Guardian Angel
by Ama Koneko
Summary: AU. Complete. Kagome, a regular girl dies suddenly in a car accident. But even as she tries to come to terms with her death, and a rather annoying Guardian Angel, she finds out that there's a few things that just aren't going to let her rest in peace.
1. Chapter 1: End

Waa, this is my first ever fic! I'm sooooooo nervous! 

I based this story after a dream I had once.. Sesshoumaru was my guardian angel! ^_^ Well everyone, read it and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha. I just wish I did…

**Book one:**

** Fate's Threads**

_You choose your destiny but in the end we all follow fate's path_

****

**Chapter 1**

**End**

Kagome blinked a few times before opening her eyes. Where was she? A bright light was blinding her and if she squinted all she could see was white. She closed her eyes and tried to recap what she last remembered. 

She had been going to the beach with her friends for the weekend, she remembered that clearly. Was that where she was? Maybe she was in a spa or something and had just fallen asleep. Or on the beach. Or her friends were playing some weird trick on her. But she couldn't hear anything. 

Wait, she could. She could hear voices, but she couldn't make them out. And was that a siren in the background? And her bed… her bed was moving. That wasn't, that couldn't be right. That was odd, what was up with her sense today? Everything seemed muddle, her whole body was waking up and she was getting pins and needles.

She decided to sit up and shield her eyes when she opened them. After a moment of getting used to the brightness, everything toned down a bit and she found herself staring at two white doors. She blinked a few times, wondering where on earth she was.

"Higurashi. Kagome Higurashi." A man's voice said behind her. She turned around to see who was calling her and found herself looking at a man in a white suit. Behind him was another man, wearing the same and typing something up on a laptop, and a few shelves with what looked like emergency supplies. Everything was rocking slightly and Kagome was dimly aware of movement. She was in a truck or van of some sort.

"Date of birth:" The man continued, and Kagome looked sharply at him. She then realized that he was reading her wallet! She made a grab for it, but missed when the van turned. The man didn't even look up, but continued to read her stats.

Who were these people? Kagome wondered, looking around the van. Everything was white, and there were two windows on the van doors, and from what she could see, they were moving quickly. The second man seemed to be typing up a report of some sort and Kagome suddenly had the chilling thought that she had been kidnapped. She glared back at the man and was just about to yell at him when she saw the symbol on his uniform.

And froze.

Hospital. It was the hospital symbol, the emergency. Suddenly her ears picked up the wail of the siren of the ambulance she was in. Everything suddenly seemed clear now, the medical supplies, the white van, the two men, the report…

The report.

She was suddenly very afraid and almost didn't hear the first man finish listing off information about her. There was a bit more stats, like where she lived and what school she was going to, and then the words she was dreading to hear:

"And date of death: May 14, 2002."

Kagome felt a pit in her stomach. It all made sense now, the bright light, the funny sensations, the ambulance, the man not noticing her. She took a breath and, as if just one final, last check, she looked down. 

She held her breath to hold back the scream, but she felt so numb and empty all of a sudden that she probably wouldn't be able to anyway. She was looking down at herself, her body, blood on her face and seeping through the white sheet that covered the rest of her. She instinctively looked down at her ghost body and saw the same blood pattern on her shirt. She let out a whimper.

"I-I-I'm dead…" She whispered, to no one in particular. She was a ghost now, a wandering spirit. Her life on Earth was over. Gone. Finished. She was dead.

"2 minutes and 43 seconds. Not bad." A new voice, much more cynical and clearer then the two men, spoke in her ear behind her. She spun around to see a boy about her age with long white hair that looked like it had never seen a brush and wearing a red kimono with black trim and a beaded necklace, with a sword strapped to his side. His eyes were yellow, he appeared to have fangs, and were those dog ears poking up at the top of his head?

"Wha-what?" Kagome said after a moment, finding her voice. The men hadn't seemed to notice him, so did that mean he was a ghost as well? She could sense some type of aura around him, now that she thought about it.

"It took you 2 minutes and 43 seconds to realize you were dead. Not bad, but not quick either." He sighed. "Seriously Kagome, I expected a little more clarity from you. I mean, at least under 2 minutes to realise you're on the other side now."

Kagome stared.

The boy looked a little frustrated when she didn't answer him and tried again. "Hello, Kagome? Are you awake in there? Or did the accident fry what little brain you had?" He waved her hand in front of her face and snapped her out of her shock. "That's better. I don't expect much out of you brain-wise, but you're at least a bit smarter then that." He leaned back against the wall, smirking.

Kagome sputtered. "Who are you?" She asked fiercely, suddenly no longer shocked now that this.. this… _jerk_ was around. "And how do you know my name?"

"Introductions and explanations later." The boy wrinkled his nose. "Can we leave this place? It stinks of death."

"In case you haven't noticed, braniac, I just died." Kagome said bitterly. 

"Yeah, I know." The boy nodded. "I was expecting it. Listen, if you don't want to leave your body, Dad always told me most don't, then we can just sit on top of the ambulance instead. Because I have a really sensitive nose and this smells worse then your mom's cabbage soup."

Kagome wondered if anything could smell worse then her mother's soup, then remembered her mother and her family and how she'd never be able to see them again and began to cry.

"What the-?" The boy blinked at Kagome, who was on full waterworks now, and he looked completely lost on how to react. As Kagome could guess, he didn't have a lot of experience dealing with girls. "Hey, listen Kagome, don't cry, ok? You'll just make things worse then they already are." Kagome didn't stop. He tried another approach. "Hey, look, why don't you save those tears for the funeral? I'm sure it'll be a nice one." This only succeeded in making Kagome cry harder. "Uh…" he was looking fairly lost now. He decided one last try. "Look, could you shut up? You're hurting my ears."

SMACK!

The boy blinked for a few seconds, then poked the red hand mark on his cheek a few times, as if to see if it were really there. Kagome glared daggers at him. 

"You-you-you JERK!" She screamed and pointed an accusing finger at him. "Have you absolutely no respect! I just DIED you moron, died! Dead! Gone! Forever! No turning back! I can't see anyone ever again! Not my friends, not my family! NO ONE!"

The boy cowered in the corner at Kagome's wrath, flattening his pointed ears against his skull. They were ringing now, and he was positive that if Kagome had kept screaming her would have gone deaf. Luckily, for him anyway, she managed to work herself up into tears again, and went back to sobbing. 

The boy stayed in his corner for a moment, then decided on something. He got up, walked over to Kagome and picked her up. She stopped crying long enough to start screaming bloody murder again, but he flattened his ears against his skull and jumped through the roof. Kagome fell silent for a second as she watched the ambulance get left further and further behind as the boy jumped from car to car across the street. 

"Hey!" Kagome snapped at him, suddenly realizing that they were leaving the ambulance behind. "That's my body back there!  Bring me back!" She began beating at him, although her blows didn't seem to do anything.

"Calm down, I'm taking you to the hospital." The boy said, sounding exasperated. Kagome fell silent. "We'll get there before your body and maybe we'll have a chance to talk before you turn on the waterworks again."

"Talk about what?" Kagome asked suspiciously. She watched as they half-bounded half-flew down the street in slight awe. She was becoming so mesmerized that she almost didn't hear his response.

"Well, you wanted to know who I am and shit like that." The boy said. She snapped her head up and looked at him. 

"That's right!" She said, as if suddenly remembering. "WHO are you?" She suddenly didn't feel so comfortable being carried by this stranger anymore. Although his arms were quite strong and his body was kinda warm, almost relaxing after the scare she had had a few minu- no! She shook her head quickly to rid her self of those kinds of thoughts. Not the time to be thinking about that, she reprimanded herself. 

"My name is Kami." He said with a fanged grin. Kagome glared at him. 

"How about I just call you Ego instead?" She asked, not amused by his jokes. The boy sighed.

"Well, if you want, call me Inu-Yasha." He said, as if he thought he could have picked a better name. "And I'm basically your guardian angel."

"MY WHAT?" Kagome yelled loudly enough for Inu-Yasha to flatten his ears again. He shot a glare at her.

"The hell was that for? Are you trying to make me go deaf or something?" He half-growled. Kagome looked at him in shock. 

"And you're an angel?" She said in disbelief. "Why am I having a hard time believing this?"

"Stop sounding so surprised." He said, now jumping on rooftops after deciding it was faster. "And I never said I was an angel. I just said I'm basically your guardian angel. There's a difference."

Kagome just blinked.

Inu-Yasha sighed. "Is it just me or did you get more airheaded after you croaked?" Kagome's expression changed in an instant, and she smacked him again. "Hey, what was that for?" He said, ears drooping dejectedly as he rubbed his red cheek for the second time. Kagome had to cling tightly to his kimono so that she wouldn't fall down. The roof tops were a lot higher up then she thought they would be, and her heart caught in her throat. She turned her attention back to her guardian to distract herself.

"Listen Inu-Yasha, or whoever you are." She began. "First of all, what kind of name for an angel is dog-demon?" The boy grumbled. "And second of all, you? An angel? You act more like some immature street punk."

"Thanks." Inu-Yasha grunted. He looked back down at her. "You know, one would think you'd know stuff like this since you _do_ live at a shrine. And," He added with a slight sneer. "Should I feel special or something for this bout of rudeness? Usually you're all over guys, like that nerd at your school, what's-his-name. Hojo, that's it." He turned his attention from her and kept jumping rooftops.

Kagome stared at him for a second. Was he jealous of Hojo? It certainly sounded like it- wait, he couldn't be jealous, she thought quickly, shaking her head to rid herself of the thought. They had just met, and now he was kidnapping her. Then again, she was dead, so wouldn't that mean he was too? Was he some kind of ghostly stalker?

She eyed him suspiciously after that thought. "Who are you really? And how do you know so much about me?"

Inu-Yasha sighed and rolled his eyes. "Listen, this stupid act is getting annoying. I'm your guardian angel, and I know everything because I've been with you your entire life. Live with it. Or should it say," he smirked. "Die with it."

Kagome seethed. "Listen Inu-Yasha, I'm not buying it, so give it up! You're just an immature punk ghost-stalker who's making stuff up because you think it's going to impress me or something! If I did have a guardian angel he'd be tall, handsome and a _gentleman_, three things you're not! I don't believe a word you're saying, I'm starting to get angry and I don't want you carrying me anymore! Put me down right now, Inu-Yasha! Put me down!"

Inu-Yasha's eyes had been narrowing throughout her speech, but when she finished and temporarily ran out of breath he relaxed and shrugged. "As you wish, princess." 

He dropped her.

Kagome screamed, only to find she had landed softly and hadn't fallen that far. Inu-Yasha landed beside her, not looking at her. 

"We're here." He said simply. Kagome was about to ask what he meant when she looked around and realized she was on the roof of the hospital. She ran to the edge of the roof to see if she could see the ambulance coming in yet or not and nearly fainted at the sight of how high up she was. She lost her balance and started to fall forward with a scream when someone grabbed her collar and pulled her backwards, causing her to fall on her rear end. She winced, briefly wondered why she could still feel pain although she was dead, and looked up at her saviour. Inu-Yasha looked back down at her with some disgust. She frowned; she was dimly hoping he would have left.

"Yeesh Kagome, you never learn, do ya? If you're afraid of heights, why do you keep going to high places? You can be so stupid sometimes." He scoffed. 

"Listen!" Kagome stood up and looked him face to face, waggling her finger under his nose. "Inu-Yasha, I'm starting to get sick of this! I want you to stop saying my name with such familiarity and to stop acting like you know me! We just met, you selfish, arrogant, dog-eared, lying jerk!"

Inu-Yasha blinked at Kagome's finger, which rapped his nose with every point, then his expression turned nasty and it was his turn to yell at the girl. "Listen yourself, wench! I'm saying your name with familiarity 'cause I've known you since you were a baby, and I ain't lyin' about that! And fuck, if we 'just met' then stop making all these judgements and accusations about me, you hypocritical bitch!"

Kagome bristled. "Don't call me that! My name is Kagome, not wench or bitch! And what kind of angel swears anyway?"

"I'll swear if I damn well want to, and you just told me to not call you Kagome!" Inu-Yasha snarled back. "Why the hell are you so temperamental anyway?" 

"I'm temperamental because you're acting like a jerk! And if you've known me since I was a baby, then how come I'm just meeting you?"

"Because I'm your guardian angel you twit! You can't see me until you die!"

"I'm not a twit!"

"Twit!"

"Dog breath!"

"I don't have dog breath, wench!"

"Don't call me wench!"

"Wench!"

"You are going to sit down and shut up right now, you dog-eared freak!" Kagome shouted. "I don't what to hear anymore of your crap and I don't want to listen to your voice any longer! Just the sight of you is making me sick. Sit down!" He glared at her.  "SIT!"

Inu-Yasha sat.

Well, he didn't sit as much as fall face first to the ground. As Kagome looked down at him in shock he swore in about thirteen different languages and pushed himself up. He grabbed the necklace around his neck, which Kagome now suddenly recognized as a rosary, and began shaking it. 

"Damn whoever thought these pieces of shit were a good idea." He growled, sitting up and trying to ignore the indent he had made on the hospital roof. He refused to look at Kagome, who was looking back at him in confusion and curiosity. 

"Did I do that?" She asked. Inu-Yasha didn't respond. "Hello, Inu-Yasha?" He snorted but still ignored her. "Inu-Yasha?" She went right up to him and tried to look him in the face but he kept turning away to avoid her. "Look at me and answer!" She shouted.

"I thought you didn't want to hear the sound of my voice, wench." Inu-Yasha snarled at her and Kagome glared back. They stared daggers at each other for a minute, then both looked away with a 'hmph'. Kagome sat down with her back facing her 'guardian angel'.

"Fine then, if you don't want to talk to me then I don't want to talk to you." Kagome said. 

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Shut up wench."

"Make me, asshole."

"I can see you two are getting together quite nicely."

Kagome and Inu-Yasha both looked up to see a girl dressed in black with a ponytail and a two-tailed cat-fox creature sitting on her shoulder. She looked the feuding pair with a smirk and shook her head, sighing. The creature on her shoulder purred and Kagome noticed it also had a small rosary around it's neck.

"Oh, hi Kirrara." Inu-Yasha said in an exasperated voice. The two-tailed cat jumped down onto his shoulder and rubbed it's head against his cheek, purring. Kagome watched this in confusion, and the girl seemed equally bewildered. 

"You two know each other?" They asked at the same time. Inu-Yasha and Kirrara looked at them and nodded simultaneously. The boy looked over at Kirrara's partner. "So Sango, how'd you die?" He asked rather bluntly and Kagome smacked him. 

Sango looked shocked. "You know me?"

Inu-Yasha shrugged, rubbing the back of his skull and shooting a glare at Kagome. "Kirrara and I have known each other for about a century now. We both keep tabs on who each other are guarding. I've known you as long as Kagome, except she's been getting herself in more trouble then she's worth, so I haven't had time to visit Kirrara." The little cat let out a mew, and Inu-Yasha looked at her. "A month ago, eh?" He looked back up at Sango. "So you obviously know everything then. Maybe you could explain it to little miss I'm-better-then-you-are here." He jabbed a thumb at Kagome without actually looking at her.

"Why you…" Kagome fumed, then paused. "You two have known each other for a century? How old are you?"

Inu-Yasha looked at her like she was asking the answer for two plus two. "418 years old. Why?"

Kagome suddenly felt very faint.

End Chapter 1

And that's the end of the first chapter! So what did you think? Is it good? Is it bad? So far it's looking like it's gonna be a long story chapter-wise. Oh well, we're just gonna have to wait an see. After all, it's the first chapter!

~Ama~


	2. Chapter 2: Quarrel

*squeals* Eeeeeeeee! I got so many reviews! You love me! You really love me!

Disclaimer: I have Sesshoumaru as a guardian angel! *kuggles her Sesshoumaruguardian* But I don't own Inu-Yasha.  

**Chapter 2**

**Quarrel**

"So you and Kirrara go way back?" Sango asked Inu-Yasha, sitting down beside him. Kagome glared at her for acting so familiar with her guardian angel, then immediately wondered why she even cared. She ignored Inu-Yasha and sat down beside Sango, still listening to the conversation.

"Yeah, we met one time when the mortals we were guarding happened to get in a fight over a horse or some stupid shit like that." Inu-Yasha was saying. "We started chatting after a while and since we both were always giving assignments in Japan we just met up every once in a while. We were both hoping that you two would meet sometime since you were living close enough, but it looks like you both had to die first."  

"Yeah, well, being dead ain't all it's cracked up to be." Sango said, scratching Kirrara under the chin. "How'd you do it, Kagome?" She looked over at the girl in question, who blinked back at her. "How'd you die?"

"Well, uh…" Kagome paused. How did she die? Well, if Inu-Yasha was always there, then maybe… "Inu-Yasha, how'd I die?" She asked, forgetting she was supposed to be ignoring him.

"Car crash." Inu-Yasha said, studying his claws. "A truck swerved and hit you guys on your way to the beach."

"Oh." Kagome said quietly. She wondered if everyone else was okay when Inu-Yasha answered that question for her. "And don't worry, you were the only one who died. You got hit right on, but everyone else escaped with minor injuries." Kagome wondered if she should feel relieved or just get up and hit Inu-Yasha for acting like he didn't even care. She decided to do both.

"Ow!" Inu-Yasha grabbed the back on his head where Kagome had hit him. "The hell was that for?"

"If you're my guardian angel, then you're supposed to care about me!" Kagome said, oh so tempted to hit him again. They had another glaring contest and turned their backs to each other. "Inu-Yasha, just sit down." Kagome said, taking a seat herself.

"No."

"You heard me dog-breath, sit!"

He sat. 

Kagome looked over her shoulder to see Inu-Yasha pull himself up from the ground again. Sango was giggling as Inu-Yasha threatened to kill the rosary around his neck and Kagome began to wonder if her guardian was insane.

"Looks like you figured out the secret of the rosary." Sango said, turning Kagome's attention to her. Sango scratched Kirrara just underneath the beaded necklace on the cat's neck. "The rosary's contain most of the angel's wild power, so the mortals have the ability to either increase the power of their angel or, as you've found out, subdue their angel if they're getting out of hand. Kirrara told me that that's because there's often too many of Inu-Yasha's kind around these days." Inu-Yasha glared at Kirrara and the other angel purred.

"So that's what they're for…" Kagome said with understanding, then an evil grin crossed her face. "Inu-Yasha?"

"Yeah wench?"

"Sit."

Sango and Kirrara watched Inu-Yasha spit out another mouthful of concrete then looked up at Kagome who was giggling. Looking back at Inu-Yasha, Sango couldn't help but giggle too. "Except when the rosaries were made, I don't think they had in mind for the mortals to abuse that power." Inu-Yasha pushed himself up, dusted himself off and turned his back on the girls. After a moment he started yanking at the rosary and cursing it to the seven gates of Hell.

"I still can't believe you're my guardian angel." Kagome sighed. "What exactly do you guard me from anyway?"

"Guardian angels are supposed to protect and make sure that demons don't interfere with their assigned mortals life." Sango replied. "Each guardian angel has seven different assignments they have to fulfill before they get their wings and become full-fledged angels. A successful assignment is if the mortal makes it to Heaven." She smiled. "At least, that's what Kirrara told me."

"Oh really?" Kagome looked over at Inu-Yasha who had stopped cursing his rosary and was sulking. His ears turned her way and he looked back at her, grunted, and turned away again. Kagome frowned. "I'm surprised my soul wasn't devoured when I was three then or something. You have to be the most incompetent angel I know." Something Sango had just said ran through her mind. "What number of assignment are you on?" she asked curiously. Inu-Yasha grunted but didn't respond.

Kirrara mewled and Inu-Yasha's ears turned back. Sango looked at her angel in surprise, the looked at Kagome. "Believe it or not, but this is his seventh assignment. If he succeeds," She looked at Inu-Yasha curiously. "He gets his wings."

"Really?" Kagome said, also looking over at Inu-Yasha in interest. Inu-Yasha's ears turned straight and he tried to act like he didn't notice them. Kagome was just trying to picture Inu-Yasha with wings and a halo. Then she stuck him in a frilly white dress and gave him a harp. Ah screw it, little angel babies started flying all over the place too, throwing sakura petals everywhere while cheesy 'angel' music played. Her nose wrinkled at the thought of it and she started giggling. 

Everyone looked over at her. "What's so funny wench?" Inu-Yasha asked. Kagome glared at him. 

"Sit."

"I really don't think you should be abusing that power." Sango said as Inu-Yasha began cursing both his rosary and Kagome. "I mean, after all, he does have to protect you during death."

Kagome stop giggling and looked over at her new dead friend and her angel. "Sango, speaking of death, I've just been wondering; how did you die?"

"Me?" Sango wrinkled her nose and a dark look came over her face. "I was murdered."

"Oh!" Kagome gasped. "Do you know who did it?" Even Inu-Yasha had stopped swearing at his rosary to look at Sango in interest. Kirrara also looked very solemn. 

"If I knew who did it," Sango muttered darkly. "I wouldn't be here. I'd be killing that fucking bastard until his great-grandchildren were born dead." She clenched her fists tightly and looked true to her word.

Everyone was silent for a moment, until Inu-Yasha broke the silence, changing the subject quickly. "Hey, Kagome, you're still bleeding."

"What?" Kagome looked down at herself to see blood all over her shirt. "ew.…"

"Change out." Sango said simply. Kagome looked at her in confusion. "Or don't you know how?"

Kagome shook her head. Sango smiled. "Oh, well it's easy then. Just focus on your clothes turning into something else." Kirrara mewed and Sango looked at Kagome. "Are you really a shrine girl?" she asked. 

"Huh?" Kagome looked up at a Sango from concentrating on her shirt, trying to will it clean. She looked at Kirrara and felt slightly left out that both Inu-Yasha and Sango knew what the little cat angel was saying, but she didn't. Then she remembered the question. "Oh, yeah, I am. Why?"

"Because that's what Kirrara said Inu-Yasha said you were." Sango grinned mischievously. "So that means you know a bunch of this supernatural stuff and should be a cinch at it!"

"Yeah, sure." Kagome mumbled, going back to her shirt. She tried to envision the blood disappearing from it, then to her amazement she watched as it did. "Hey, cool!"

"See, I told you it would b easy." Sango smiled. Kagome stared at her clean shirt in amazement. She looked at a Sango, glowing. "What else can ghosts do?" she asked excitedly. Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes and mouthed 'Here we go.' Sango giggled and answered Kagome's question.

"As far to my knowledge ghosts can jump high, fly for a short period of time, float about 4 feet above the ground, go through walls and other solid objects, change clothes and the really powerful and experienced ones and shoot ki blasts, move objects and make themselves be heard by mortals. The last three also happen by some ghosts that get a little out of control." She shrugged. "There's probably more, but I've only been dead for a month, so I haven't learned everything yet."

Kagome's eyes glistened. "That sounds great! You are so teaching me everythi-" She was interrupted by a familiar siren noise. She stiffened, then jumped up, and ran over to the edge of the roof to see the ambulance pull into the hospital. "My body!"

"You mean you just died a few hours ago?" Sango asked, coming up beside her. "So that's why you need me to teach you." She looked over at Inu-Yasha. "Since he looks fairly incompetent."

"Hey!" Inu-Yasha snarled at her. Kagome tugged at his sleeve and he looked down. "What wen- " he at the look on her face as she prepared to say the 's' word. "Kagome?"

She smiled. "How do we get inside the hospital?" 

Inu-Yasha blinked for a moment at the rapid change in personality. "Uh, just go through I guess."

Sango sighed. "You make a horrible angel, you know that?" She grabbed Kagome's arm. "It's easy. Just think of turning into water and you'll just go right through. It takes a bit of practice at first, but after a while you just sorta do it automatically." 

"Alright." Kagome nodded, closed her eyes and began concentrating. She felt her entire body go slightly numbish and when she opened her eyes and was floating downwards in the air. "Hey, cool!"

Sango smiled. "You'll get used to it after a while. Now just try to keep this feeling so that it's faster to head to the morgue." She tugged on Kagome's wrist and pulled her through a wall, Kirrara and Inu-Yasha close behind. 

"Morgue?" Kagome said, startled, then remembered. "Oh right." She ran to keep up with Sango, and soon began to enjoy running through the walls. It was like running through jello, and had a tingling sensation and she began jumping back and forth through walls before Inu-Yasha grabbed her with a growl and set her on the right path.

Sango disappeared through a pair of doors and Kagome followed, then skidded to a stop. Inu-Yasha ran right into her and knocked her over, both landed in a tangle. 

"Watch where you're going!" Inu-Yasha growled, pulling himself up. He then helped Kagome up, and if Kagome hadn't been so shocked she would have asked him why he would actually do such a nice deed. But right now she was too busy staring at the latest arrival to the morgue. 

She hadn't really gotten a good look at herself before in the ambulance, but now she could see her body clearly. Half her rib cage seemed broken and blood was covering her entire shirt and she had a blood stream on her face from a gash in her forehead. Kagome unconsciously wrapped an arm around her chest and wiped her forehead, astonished to see blood on her hand.

 "Oh Kagome, I'm so sorry." Sango gasped at sight, but Kagome didn't seem to hear her. Trembling, Kagome walked up to her body and put a hand on her forehead. Although she was a ghost now, Kagome could still feel, and her body was still warm. She stood there, staring at herself for a moment before breaking down. Inu-Yasha quickly ran over and caught Kagome as she fell backwards, sobbing.  She buried her face in his chest and he uncertainly wrapped his arms around her. "Kagome, please don't cry again." He nearly whimpered, looking forlornly lost. "It'll be okay… really. Just please, stop crying?"

Sango smiled at Inu-Yasha's attempts at consolation, rather poor attempts she added when Kagome kicked him but kept on crying ("All I said was that the funeral's gonna be nice!" Inu-Yasha protested), and mused about how cute the pair of them looked together. Her musings were interrupted by noises and she glance over at the door, walked over and poked her head out to see what it was. Her face paled and she ran back inside, waving frantically to Inu-Yasha. "Guys, someone's coming! We should get out of here!"

"Eh?" Inu-Yasha looked up at her, then saw the door open and who was entering. "Oh shit. C'mon Kagome."

Before she could protest Inu-Yasha grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the room. Sango and Kirrara followed behind as Inu-Yasha jumped from floor to floor until they were back on the roof. Not being a supernatural entity like Inu-Yasha, Sango couldn't jump as fast and by the time she arrived on the roof top the scene was not pretty. 

Kagome and Inu-Yasha were facing off, screaming at each other. Sango landed quietly on the roof and watched, wondering if she should get involved. This didn't look like any of the friendly fights Kagome and Inu-Yasha had had earlier. Kagome looked eternally pissed and ready to bite Inu-Yasha's head off. 

"… and next time why don't you just go and ruin my funeral, or desecrate my grave you insensitive bastard!" She screeched. Inu-Yasha flattened his ears. He looked as though he had been trying to calm her down, but now his temper took over.

"Listen bitch, I was just trying to help you!"

"Help me like hell!" Kagome interrupted, at a decibel that made even Sango wince. "You just do whatever the hell you feel like, just because you're some damned angel! You can't even give me two minutes alone?!"

"If you had stayed it would have been harder for you!" Inu-Yasha snarled back. "I was trying to keep your best interests in mind and get you out of there before you got seriously hurt!"

"FROM WHAT?! There's just dead bodies there! Like me!"

"Your fucking mother was coming in!" Inu-Yasha roared, and Sango didn't know whether it was the tone of his voice or what he said that silenced Kagome. "If you had stayed in that damn room you would have just made it harder on yourself." He said a little more quietly. "And you might have done something irrational that could have affected both you and her. That's why I had to pull you out."

Kagome stood there silently, trembling and glaring hatred at Inu-Yasha. Sango suddenly remembered to breathe (then remembered she had no breath), and watched as Kagome turned around and began walking away from Inu-Yasha, towards the edge of the hospital roof. 

"Hey, where are you going!" Inu-Yasha barked, running after Kagome. The girl stopped and Inu-Yasha slowed down and stopped beside her. 

Sango winced as Kagome turned around and slapped Inu-Yasha so hard Sango was sure it would bruise for a week. Inu-Yasha swore, putting a hand to his stinging cheek and looked down at Kagome. The harsh words he was about to say lodged in his throat when he saw the tears streaming down her face. She stood there, shaking and crying, glaring at him with more hatred then Inu-Yasha had ever seen before in this life.

"I hate you." She said quietly, just loud enough for Inu-Yasha' ears to pick up. "I hate you and everything about you. Don't you even have the heart to let me see my mother one last time?!" She shouted the last bit. She balled her hand into a fist and hung her head, watching her tears stain the roof for a second before evaporating. "I never want to see you again.  Ever." She turned around and began walking in the other direction. Inu-Yasha stood there, frozen, unsure of what to do. He shook himself free of his fright, and took a step towards the departing girl. "Ka-Kagome!" he shouted after her. 

"Sit."  Kagome didn't even turn around as Inu-Yasha fell to the ground just as comically as ever. But Sango didn't really feel like laughing as she stepped up beside the confused young angel. They both watched silently as Kagome neared the edge of the roof, paused for a minute, then jumped to another roof. A bit more sure of herself she ran to the edge and began jumping from roof to roof until she was nearly out of sight. Sango was slightly amazed as Kagome's quickness in getting the hang of her ghost abilities when she heard Inu-Yasha get up.

"Kago-" Sango put up a hand, cutting Inu-Yasha off. She shook her head as the angel looked at her in anger and confusion. "Let her go." She said quietly. "She's going to need some space to steam off."

"But…" Kirrara cut Inu-Yasha off again with a sharp 'meow', and he stared out to where Kagome had disappeared, ears drooping as he felt more lost then he'd ever had in his entire life. "But…" He sat down, wondering what he had done wrong. Sango sat down beside him and pretended that she didn't see the tear Inu-Yasha quickly wiped away from his cheek.

She hated him. Hated him, hated him, hated him. Why on Earth did she have to get such an asshole for a guardian angel? Kagome ran faster, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, running God knows where and not caring. She could feel herself start to get tired but she tried to ignore it. She'd run as far away from that asshole as possible, even if it meant leaving Tokyo, even if it meant leaving Japan. Her tears were starting to blind her vision and she stumbled, falling hard against the roof of an apartment building. 

She started to pick herself up and just sat there, sobbing from the tears and sobbing for breath. Maybe she was being to irrational, a little voice in her head thought. After all, she would have probably panicked if she saw her mother and might have caused some damage like Sango had said.

Kagome pushed that thought out of her head and curled up into a ball as she tried to think more clearly. She hated Inu-Yasha, she reminded herself, hated him. She didn't need a guardian angel to survive as a ghost, nothing at all. She was perfectly fine on her own. She could make a ki blast and fly and learn to do everything by herself, without that selfish jerk. He probably wouldn't teach her anyway. 

But Sango would have, and you left her behind without even a thought, didn't you? Another sneaky little voice popped up in her head. She pushed that one back too and dimly wondered if all this grief was causing her to go insane. 

"Who can blame me though?" She mumbled to herself, wiping at some of her tears. "I just died a few hours ago. You can't exactly expect me to cope with it all nicely and everything." Maybe she should go back and apologize to Inu-Yasha, she thought miserably. Now that she thought about it, the first little voice was right. If she had actually seen her mother, what would she have done? Go berserk, nearly kill Inu-Yasha and probably try to hug her, she figured. And if she was out of hand, would she have knocked her mother over? Maybe even kill her? How could she live with herself then?

So you see, Inu-Yasha was right. The first voice said. Kagome sighed. "I guess so," She muttered, getting up and dusting herself off and wiping the tears from her face. Then she paused and began laughing. Listening to voices in her head! Even better, answering them! Inu-Yasha would really have something to say about that if he were here, she thought bitterly. 

Then paused. Where exactly _was_ Inu-Yasha? She couldn't just wander around and try to find him. She frowned as she tried to remember which direction he was in. Then a thought struck her. Maybe, if Inu-Yasha was her guardian angel, if she just concentrated then she could sense where he was. She closed her eyes and concentrated really hard, trying to locate Inu-Yasha. There! A strong feeling, kind of dark and rough, the way Inu-Yasha's energy had felt when she first met him. She turned in the direction that she felt it in, it was really close by, and opened her eyes.

And screamed.

Inu-Yasha's ears picked up that all-too-familiar scream and began running faster, Sango riding Kirrara's true form, a giant tiger with large fangs and flaming feet, behind him. His heart skipped a beat when he heard it a second time, only to be cut off midway through.

"Did you hear that?" Sango asked him as he started swearing at his legs for not being able to carrying him any faster. He looked up at her fearfully and nodded, then stared straight ahead where he sensed Kagome, all the more enforced by the scream. 

"It's all my fault." He growled quietly to himself, grinding his fangs together. He clenched his fists. All my fault that Kagome might die too early. He put every ounce of energy he had into running, not even concerned that if he arrived he might not be strong enough to fight the demon. That wouldn't matter if Kagome was dead by the time he got there. He put a clawed hand on his sword and snarled under his breath. Stay there Kagome, he thought. I'm coming.

He, Sango and Kirrara ran at top speed through the rooftops of Tokyo.

End Chapter 2

And that's the end of Chapter 2! I'm gonna try to post up a new chapter ever Tuesday, and Thursday since I already have up to chapter 5 written and see if maybe I can post more up from there. 

I don't have high-speed :(  so I'm stuck with posting twice weekly. But I'm sure that's fine with everyone! Just gives me more time read your reviews and improve my already written chapters and inspire me to write further ones! *hinthint*

And for those of you who hate cliffhangers and hate waiting this long for the end of the cliffhanger:

PREVIEW OF CHAPTER 3: COMPANIONS   

- Miroku and Shippo finally show up

- The plot gets a little bit more of a push (not much, but a little)

- The afterlife gets explained

- Inu-Yasha screws up again (so what else is new?)

That's all for now. New post on Tuesday.

Ciao!

~Ama Koneko~


	3. Chapter 3: Companions

*squeals* Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! I saw the Rin and Sesshoumaru episode today! Kawaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!! *jumps around excitedly* She's just so cute! I envy her soooooooooooooo much! 

(I also played the Inu-Yasha drinking game with a drink that was half-coke, half-jolt, and a lot of sugar. I don't think I should have.)

Disclaimer: I want Sesshoumaru! But I don't own Inu-Yasha so can't have him. *pouts*

Chapter 3

**Companions**

Kagome tried to scream again but couldn't. The demon was clutching her throat too tightly with it's claws, which Kagome could feel pricking her neck. It had been behind her when she was trying to sense Inu-Yasha, a giant serpent-like creature with six arms, each armed with three wicked claws the size of Kagome's hand. She had obviously broken it's element of surprise when she screamed and had thrown her hard against a billboard, cutting off her second scream, then pounced on her and now seemed intent on squeezing her head off. As it tightened it's grip around Kagome's neck it brought it's narrowed head up close to the dead girl's, hissing delightfully. 

"Where's your angel, girl?" It hissed/gurgled, an awful sound at made Kagome want to vomit. It flicked it's tongue out, with a grin that revealed a mouthful of fangs dripping venom. It blinked it's large, glassy eyes as it focused on Kagome, who was beginning to lose consciousness. It brought it's face closer, reeking of poison and death. "Or did you abandon your little guardian?" it seemed pleased at that thought.

Get off of me, Kagome wanted to say. Go away, leave me alone. She fought to keep conscious, but the demon seemed angered by this. It slammed her against the steel roof of the building, tightening it's grip. "Die already!" It hissed angrily, it's eyes flashing. Kagome struggled but it was no use. Already her vision was fading and it was getting hard keeping a grip on reality. Could ghosts die, she thought lazily as she started to drift of. The demon seemed ready to take a bite out of her, yet Kagome didn't feel frightened at all. I wonder what happens to ghosts when they die, she thought…

"Hey, youkai!" A voice said, cutting through Kagome's reverie. Inu-Yasha? She thought. No, couldn't be. She struggled to open her eyes and see the challenger. 

The demon's focus seemed to be on another boy about her age carrying a staff and dressed as a monk with a small child beside him. They were both giving off a slight ghostly aura, and the monk looked compelling so she assumed he was the angel and the child was the ghost. Poor kid, she thought when the monk interrupted her musings. He pointed the staff he was carrying with a gloved hand and shouted formidably. "Youkai, release the maiden at once!" The child jumped up and added a squeaky "yeah!" to his announcement.

"Make me, angel." The demon hissed at the two of them and clenched his claws, including the ones around Kagome's neck. She winced and the monk glared at the demon. He put his hand on his gloved arm and began unravelling the beads around it. "I didn't want to be forced to do this, but you leave me no choice." He said darkly.

"No Miroku, don't do it!" The little boy squealed, jumping onto Miroku's arm and biting his hand so he would let go. I must be hallucinating, Kagome thought dimly, because that boy has a tail. The boy re-wrapped the monk's hand, grumbling inaudibly. He glared up at the monk. "Are you stupid or something? The demon's holding _on_ to the girl! She'll get sucked in too!"

Miroku looked at the little boy and laughed nervously. "Oh yeah." He said, looking down at the ground in embarrassment. The demon seemed interested, however, and turned towards the pair, loosening it's grip around Kagome's neck. It grinned wickedly, dripping venom onto the roof where it dissolved before disappearing. Miroku made a disgusted face and looked at the demon. "I won't say this again. Release the girl."

"Or you'll what, Cursed One?" The demon hissed delightfully. Miroku and the boy looked shocked and it chuckled. "Yes, yes I've heard of you. You're the one who induced Naraku's wrath. Not very wise, are you?" It seemed greatly amused with itself. 

Miroku glared at the demon. "Go to hell." He spat, readying his staff for some type of attack, while the little boy seemed prepared to do his own work. The demon shoved Kagome in front of it, tightening it's grip again and put another claw on her stomach. "Go ahead and try it." It hissed, getting ready to slice Kagome in half. Kagome winced as the claws dug into her skin, wondering why her neck hadn't broken yet. She could feel it's other claws digging into her side painfully. It'll be over soon, she thought. Again she began to wonder where ghosts went when they died. 

"Kagome!" A shout broke through her thoughts and shocked her into consciousness again. She knew that voice and tried to look over from where she felt her guardian angel arriving. She tried to yell out to him, but couldn't speak. She could see Inu-Yasha landing on the roof, his katana in hand, Sango riding a giant, flaming Kirrara and carrying a huge boomerang landing beside him. The demon seemed to be getting confused. 

"So, the angel's returned, has he?" The demon asked, backing up. It tightened it's grip on Kagome, using her as a shield and hissing darkly. "Well, she's my prey now and you can't have her."

"I don't think so." Inu-Yasha snarled, making a ki ball in his hands. He glanced over at Miroku and the boy, deemed them acceptable with a brief nod, then glanced over at Sango and Kirrara. They both nodded, and Inu-Yasha threw the ball at the demon, where it took the form of claws. The demon dodged them, only to be hit head on by Kirrara and Sango's boomerang. Miroku shot a blast of energy at the demon's head while the little boy jumped up and bit off the claws that held Kagome around her neck. She fell to the ground and was caught by Inu-Yasha. 

"I-Inu-Yasha…" She mumbled semi-consciously. "I'm sorry…" she let herself relax in his arms, drifting off into the comfortable blackness. Inu-Yasha looked fearfully as Kagome went limp in his arms. "Kagome!"

Sango turned her attention from Kirrara ripping up the last remains of the demon and ran towards Inu-Yasha and Kagome, her boomerang disappearing. "Is she alright?" she asked, as Inu-Yasha lay Kagome down. Inu-Yasha nodded with relief, as Kagome's eyes began to flutter open again. 

"She had a close call." Miroku said solemnly behind them, kneeling down to check on the girl. "What was she doing so far away from her angel?" He asked the two. They avoided the question and Miroku decided not to probe further. He turned his attention to Kagome, who was beginning to wake up. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked, with genuine concern. Kagome blinked at him stupidly for a second, then recognized him. "You saved me!" she stated, sitting up. Inu-Yasha was about to protest and remind her that he had a hand in it to when Kagome looked over to him. "The demon was about to eat me and this guy stopped it. Thank you!" She turned her attention back to the monk.

Miroku smiled modestly and took Kagome's hand. "Now my lady, I have a small favour in which to ask of you."

"Sure, anything!" Kagome nodded gratefully. Inu-Yasha glared at the monk and started thinking of ways to kill him without Kagome noticing while Sango giggled. Miroku ducked his head as if thinking. "I know of no other way to say this, but…"

"No Miroku!" The little boy ran up shouting to the group of them. "For the love of Kami don't ask i-" Miroku quickly grabbed him, covering his mouth with his hand. Kagome looked at the boy questioningly (he DID have a tail!) and back up at Miroku. Inu-Yasha, Sango and Kirrara looked at the monk curiously as well. Miroku sighed and looked back up at Kagome, who was beginning to wonder if accepting his request was a good idea. Miroku took a deep breath. "My lady, the favour of which I ask of you is…" he paused. Kagome was getting angry and ready to hit him if he didn't ask soon. He seemed to sense Kagome's frustration, looked her straight in the eye and asked.

"Please bear my child."

"I told you not to." The little boy said knowingly as Miroku bandaged his head a few minutes later. Miroku sighed and looked over his shoulder at the other side of the roof, where Sango seemed to try to calm Kagome down, keep Inu-Yasha from killing Miroku and contemplating going over and killing Miroku herself. Miroku sighed again and looked back at his small companion.

"I merely forgot that she had her angel there, that's all." He said, rubbing the spot on his skull where two fists had hit him at the same time, one of them clawed. "Shippo, there is absolutely nothing wrong with asking a girl to continue your linage."

"It is when you're dead!" Shippo squealed, jumping up and down in anger. "What you're asking not only can't even work anymore, it's illegal! I'm sorry I ever even _told_ you how to have a child in the afterlife!" 

Miroku paused to consider that, then shrugged and began fixing up his robes and glove, trying to ignore Shippo shouting at him. He sighed, got up, dusted himself off and walked over to the other group, Shippo scrambling behind him. 

The trio was arguing (Kirrara never got into arguments like this) as Miroku walked up, then all turned their attention to him as he coughed. Inu-Yasha looked like he wanted to rip Miroku's head off but stayed put at a look from Kagome and Sango. After waiting a moment, and deciding he wasn't going to get slaughtered, Miroku spoke up.

"I am very sorry for causing you distress." He began with a small bow. Might as well keep it formal, he thought. "I should have known better then to ask such a beautiful girl such an ugly question." He sighed wistfully. "I supposed it was just wishful thinking." 

Kagome looked a little uncertain as to how to react after the complement, although Inu-Yasha and Sango seemed determined on their idea of him. Kagome fidgeted as she thought about his apology. "Well-"

"Ignore him." Shippo interrupted, jumping onto Miroku's head and grinding a fist into it. "He's a lech. He flatters all the girls he sees. Thinks it'll get him a child." Miroku bonked the little boy on the head and grabbed him by his fluffy tail, dangling the stunned Shippo at his side. One look at Kagome's face made it clear that any more flattery wouldn't get him anywhere. The dead monk sighed again, this time not part of the act. "Well, I suppose Shippo and I should be off now." He turned around and began walking.

"You're leaving?" Kagome asked. Inu-Yasha looked at her in shock. Miroku stopped and turned around thoughtfully. "You'd want me to stay?"

"Why not?" Kagome asked and Inu-Yasha looked like she had just kicked him. Sango also looked a little shocked. "The more the merrier. As long as you don't ask me to bear your child again." She added with a hard stare. 

Miroku smiled and nodded. "Certainly." He said, coming over and bowing at Kagome's feet. "I'd be honoured to join your team." Then he noticed his position and couldn't help himself.

Inu-Yasha hit Miroku and snarled at him, while Kagome hid behind her guardian and Sango looked ready to kill. Inu-Yasha hit Miroku again, just for good measure, feeling glad that Kagome was noticing him as an actual guardian now. "And you aren't feeling up their asses either, lech!" 

"Agreed." Miroku said, sitting up and rubbing the bumps on his skull. He looked at the two girls, who were looking back at him murderously. "You two are quite lucky to have such powerful guardians." He said, raising an eyebrow at Kirrara, but remembered her other form. "I am unfortunate to be stuck with one such as Shippo."

"No, I'm the one unfortunate to be stuck with you." Shippo grumbled, fluffing up his tail and re-arranging his rosary. He looked up at the others and cocked his head curiously. "I don't think we've been introduced." He stood up and did a quick little bow. "I'm Shippo, guardian angel to this lech." He pointed at Miroku, who was starting to look annoyed.

"Would everyone stop calling me a lech already?" he grumbled. "My name's Miroku."

"Squeeee! Cute!" Kagome squealed, picking up Shippo and hugging him. Shippo squirmed, obviously not used to such attention (unless Miroku was using him to pick up women) but soon gave up and let Kagome stroke him. After a while he decided he liked the attention and kept grabbing Kagome's hand and putting it back on his head whenever she showed signs of stopping. He closed his eyes, a dorky, kiddish smile on his face. 

Inu-Yasha glared at the tiny angel, growling in his throat. Sango nudged the older boy in the ribs, a signal to quit, and Inu-Yasha shot a glare at her. Sango sighed, officially put Inu-Yasha on the 'hopeless list' and decided to quickly changed the subject.

"So, how'd you die, Miroku?" She asked, as if asking people about their deaths was as normal as asking the weather. Kagome scratched Shippo on the head, wondering how she'd ever get used to this. Meanwhile Shippo and Miroku's eyes had hardened and Shippo twisted out of Kagome's grasp, going over to sit on his partner's head. Inu-Yasha eyed them both, not liking the looks of them and feeling he was going to like their response even less.

It was a moment before Miroku answered, so Sango was getting ready to ask another question, thinking that maybe too much time had gone by and he had forgotten. When she opened her mouth Miroku spoke up, cutting her off. "I was killed by a foul demon by the name of Naraku."  Everyone else looked at him in shock while Shippo nodded grimly.

"Killed-" 

"NARAKU?!" Inu-Yasha snarled, cutting everyone else off. They all stopped mid-sentence and looked at him in shock. The fire in the guardian's eyes made Kagome feel suddenly frightened, and even Kirrara could say she'd never seen  him like this before. Miroku backed up a step, obviously shocked by Inu-Yasha's sudden outburst. "You- you've heard of him?" Miroku stammered, and Shippo add a quick nod before returning to his hiding place safely behind the monk. 

Inu-Yasha wasn't even paying attention to them. He was staring at his claws, flexing them as he muttered under his breath. "If I could ever find that mother fucking son of a bitch again, I'm going to rip out his fucking organs one by one, the bastard…"

Although she couldn't hear what Inu-Yasha was saying, Kagome had the strange feeling it was probably violent and filled with profanity. But something was definitely bothering Inu-Yasha about this Naraku demon. "Inu-Yasha…"

"Kagome!" Sango interrupted, grabbing Kagome's arm. Kagome looked up at her in shock and Inu-Yasha looked up from his grumbling. Sango put on a false smile, trying to avert the conversation from what she could see it becoming. "We still haven't taught you everything you need to know about ghost-life! And Miroku can help teach too, since he seems to already pretty much know it all!" Sango looked over at the male ghost and took a step back, keeping her rear safely away from his hands. "Right Miroku?"

"Uh… sure." Miroku said slowly. Then what Sango said seemed to reach him. "You mean Lady Kagome has just died recently?"

Kagome and Inu-Yasha looked towards the ground, avoiding the question, and Sango made a slashing motion across her throat, signalling that Miroku back-pedal, and fast. Miroku quickly took the hint. "Lady Kagome, has your… companion told you anything of ghost life?"

Inu-Yasha shot a glare at Miroku. "I'm an angel you ass, and what's with this 'Lady Kagome' shit anyway?" Miroku didn't answer, but had the strange feeling this was going to be company to get used to.

Kagome smacked Inu-Yasha's arm for being as impudent as always and turned to Miroku. "No in fact, I haven't had time to learn anything yet. Why don't you and Sango explain it to me?" She sat down and gave a meaningful eye to Inu-Yasha, who took the hint and sat down also, before he got 'told' to.

Miroku and Shippo looked at each other and shrugged, Miroku sitting down beside Sango, who warily scooted a few inches away from the lecherous monk. Miroku tried to ignore that, and thought about how to start. "Well, you see, ghost life isn't really that complicated. There are a few rules and a few things possible and impossible but other then that it's freestyle for a year."

"You see, every ghost, or spirit as the angels like to call them, get a year of after life on Earth." Sango cut in, explaining it a little more clearly then Miroku. "It's kind like a second chance thing, and it's also training for the angels. The spirits get a chance to do whatever they want for their after life, then after that we don't know and the angels aren't allowed to tell. And the angels go through training with seven assignments, which you already know."

Kagome nodded, soaking this all in. "So I have a year to do anything I want in the world." She said, making sure she got this. 

Miroku nodded, speaking before Sango could. "Yes, with a few exceptions. Most people just stay around where they used to live or where their families live, just watching their families grow until the ghost… passes on. The rest do things they either couldn't have done or didn't get a chance to do while they were alive: The most common is traveling the world but there are hundreds of other things to do in the afterlife that you can decide on."

"And then there's us guardian angels!" Shippo piped up. "We have to watch our assigned mortal from birth and never let them leave our sight! There are demons out there that would just love to chomp on souls, like we saw earlier, so we have to protect you guys from them. It gets even tougher when the mortal dies, because they're much easier for the demons to catch and devour." Kirrara and Inu-Yasha nodded sagely to Shippo's words, as the little kitsune sighed and patted Miroku on the head. "I'm on my first assignment and they had to go and stick me with this guy who was enough trouble when he was alive and is ever worse now that he's dead."

"I'll try to ignore that Shippo." Miroku said, as Shippo giggled and made bunny ears on Miroku's head. "And don't make me say the word." Shippo sat down quietly, his rosary clinking against his colourful outfit and Sango remembered the effect of the necklace on angels. She wondered what the problem with male angels was; she'd never had to use the word on Kirrara ever.

Kagome had been thinking about something Shippo said that had been bothering her. "Shippo," the tiny angel looked up at her calling his name. "When you said that the guardian angel never, ever lets the mortal out of their sight, does that mean no exceptions? At all?" Shippo shook his head.

Inu-Yasha could tell where this was going and shifted nervously when Kagome fixed her gaze on him. He didn't like the look in her eyes. "So does that mean that Inu-Yasha's been around always? Even…" her eyes narrowed and Inu-Yasha prepared for another face full of roof. "Even when I'm changing or taking a shower?"

Everyone looked over at Inu-Yasha. Oh sure, he thought, everyone else gets tasks of their own gender. Why did I have to be stuck with the girl? And why did she have to get so temperamental anyway?

"I'm waiting." Kagome said with an edge on her voice. 

"Hmph." Inu-Yasha turned away, trying to hide his slowly reddening face. "If you're implying I'm like Miroku and would peek at you when you're naked then you're wrong. It's not like you're attractive or anything that'd I'd even _want_ to look at you." He sniffed, slightly proud at himself for not screwing up. Then he noticed that it was strangely quiet behind him. He warily turned his ears, then his head to look behind him. 

"SIT! SitsitsitsitsitsitsitsitSIT!"

"You know," Miroku mused, watching Inu-Yasha crawl out of the rather deep indent he made while Sango took Kagome a little ways off so that the furious girl wouldn't do something even more drastic. "You kinda deserved that."

Inu-Yasha spat out a few chunks of roof and a tooth, grimacing but knowing it'd have grown back by the end of the day. He glared at Miroku then sat down and crossed his arms, trying to look like nothing had happened, while keeping his back to the girls.

"Shut up."

End Chapter 3

Whew, this is hard work. Well, that's it for the third chapter, and we all got a hint of what's to come. I'm still not exactly sure where the plot's going right now; I have a general idea, but basically right now the story's writing itself. (by the way, I don't know how ghosts have children. I don't even wanna think about it. I'm just trying to keep Miroku in character as much as possible)

But I'm working on getting all of the main characters in _Inu-Yasha_ to make at least one appearance. And don't worry, Sesshoumaru _is_ coming in. (I'm not leaving him out! You kidding, he's my favourite character! *kuggles Sesshoumaru guardian again* Squeee!) I just don't know when yet. And Rin'll be there too. And even Jaken. Although I'll probably make him die a horrible death. *sighs* Like I said, this story looks like it's gonna be a longy. 

I'd like to give out a BIG thank you EVERYONE who's reviewed my story so far. I started off brand new and not knowing if I'd do well or not, and with all your reviews and encouragements I've found the strength to write on! You love me! You all really love me! Thank you all! *throws marshmallows into the air. Lots of them* Take as many as you want. My treat!

And since you guys love my story so much, I'm posting every Monday and Wednesday night instead, since it's easier that way anyway. I'll post it up at 9pm, but I don't know when it'll actually show the update. For example, I posted this at 9 Monday night, but it might not show up until around 11-ish. That's why I told you guys to check on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But still, if you're impatient, then check late on Mon and Wed!^^

Well, I'm going to go and watch Ep 35 again and again and again until either my eyes bleed or the DVD player explodes. I just love that one sooooooooo much! *squeals again and runs off*

~Ama~ (Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!)


	4. Chapter 4: Farewell

Yipes! This one is a bit of a longy, nearly a page and a half longer then the rest of my chapters! I just couldn't stop writing! My hands are possessed by the evil muse! I must stop it! I must stop writing in exclamation marks! AAAAaaaah!

I must stop playing that drinking game…

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha, but I sure as hell own my super drink Zap. (coke, jolt and a looooooot of sugar)

Chapter 4

** Farewell**

"Now all you have to do is focus your energy into the palm of your hands and concentrate really hard. Now imagine it become a tiny ball in between your two palms. That's it, you're catching on fast!"

Sango and Miroku watched as Kagome looked like she was abut to burst a vein while attempting to focus her ki. A very, very tiny ball of pinkish light illuminated itself between her hands, just barely visibly in the dying sunlight, and Kagome's face lit up. "I did it Sango! I did it!" She cried happily, letting the ball disappear and throwing her arms around Sango in a joyous hug. Miroku watched with a feigned pitiable look. "Don't I get a hug?" he asked. Both girls looked at him with stony glances.

"NO."

Miroku shrugged. "Worth a try."

Sango turned her attention back to her friend. "See, I told you it wouldn't be that hard. Now for everything else, you just basically have to concentrate your ki into other activities. Like floating!" She rose up a few inches off the ground and did a backflip. "It's not flying, but it's sure fun as hell!"

"Hey, no fair, I wanna do that!" Kagome said, grabbing Sango's arm and trying to drag her down. Sango immediately pulled back, lifting up Kagome as well. Kagome giggled and jumped off, landing back on the roof. She stared at her feet, trying to concentrate without bursting out laughing, and slowly rose an inch or so off the ground. "Hey look Sango, I did it! This is great!"

Sango nodded, grinning as the other girl ran around and pretended she was skating on air. "You're getting the hang of this really quickly!"

"Would either of you ladies care for a flight?" Sango and Kagome looked up to see Miroku seated comfortably a good eight feet in the air. Sango snorted. "Show off."

Miroku looked hurt. "I'm not a show off, I've merely been working hard at honing my skills."

"Well, how long have you been dead?"

"2 months and a bit."

"I rest my case."

Kagome interrupted their argument by jumping up and tagging Miroku on the shoulder before landing back down again. "Tag, you're it!" she shouted, bolting away. Sango got the idea and ran in another direction. Miroku stood up, lowered himself a few feet, and went chasing after the girls.

Shippo and Kirrara watched the ghosts' antics from a slightly taller roof, which Inu-Yasha had claimed their sleeping quarters for the night, since it looked to be a clear one anyway. Shippo couldn't disagree, looking up at the hundreds of constellations and millions of stars in the night sky. A scream and a 'pervert!' directed the tiny angel's attention back to the tag-playing trio, although now it seemed the two girls were ganging up on Miroku. Shippo smirked and lay down, wondering what in the fourteen heavens he had done to deserve a task like Miroku. And his first task too! Some things just weren't fair in life, death or angeldom.

From his position Shippo could see Inu-Yasha sitting on the red bulb that signalled to airplanes a building was in the way. The dim, slowly flashing light illuminated the older angel's silvery-white hair and made him seem to glow red before the light died down again. The slow but constant flashing of the light slowly mesmerized Shippo and soon the tiny angel was fast asleep, Kirrara curled up beside him with one ear on her task and her companions.

Inu-Yasha's ever-flickering ears picked up Shippo's tiny snoring and Inu-Yasha seemed to pause for a second, one ear forward, the other on Shippo. Then his ears began flickering again, taking up all the noises of the city and trying to distinguish between them. He had never liked the city much and had always stayed close to Kagome whenever she visited it. He much preferred Kagome's home: a nice, quiet shrine in suburbia with a tiny forest and less then half the noises of this place. Smelled better too, he thought, wrinkling his nose. This place stank of hundreds of things he couldn't place a claw on, and just as many he felt he didn't really want to.

He liked the rooftop he had chosen for a sleeping place; it was sheltered, as quiet as he could find it, taller then most of the other buildings so that it would be easier to see oncoming dangers, and the light, which he was currently sitting on, gave out a comforting colour and warmth as well. And as Shippo had already proven, it was quite effective for sleep as well. Not that Inu-Yasha ever slept well. Call him paranoid, but he had also believed in sleeping with one eye open. Or, he'd been believing in that ever since Naraku, the filthy bastard…

"Inu-Yasha!" The angel looked over at Kagome, Sango and Miroku who had just landed on the roof and were all looking quite tired. Miroku and Sango picked up their respective sleeping angels until Kirrara showed she wasn't asleep by yawning and licking Sango's chin. Shippo snored.

Inu-Yasha allowed a smirk on his face at the sight of Miroku contemplating whether or not to wake up his angel, then deciding it was a moot point and laying Shippo back down again before taking a seat against the two-foot high solid steel fence that outlined the rooftop. Sango followed suit, with Kirrara curled up on her lap. Inu-Yasha turned his attention back to the city before realizing his name was being called. He looked down and saw Kagome standing at the bottom of the pole the red light was attached to. "Yeah Kagome?" he asked.

Kagome sighed. She had been calling Inu-Yasha for ages and suddenly he notices her and acts like she had just been standing there. There was simply nothing to do about this boy. "What are you doing up there?" she asked, shielding her eyes from the pulsating light. 

"Watchin'." Inu-Yasha answered, not even looking down. 

"Watching what?"

"Everything." He called back down, shifting so that he could be seated more comfortably while watching the sky. He kept his ears turned behind him, so that he would notice anything trying to sneak up, and observed that Kagome was quiet. Probably went to bed, he thought.

"What's everything?" Kagome said, floating beside him. Inu-Yasha nearly jumped out of his skin and almost fell of the light with shock. He quickly composed himself and turned angrily on Kagome. "The hell was that for!?" he screeched. "You tryin' to kill me or something?!"

Kagome looked at him angrily and put a finger to her lips, bobbing her head and focusing on something downwards. Inu-Yasha followed her gaze and saw Sango, Miroku and their angels, fast asleep. He snorted, not caring if he woke them up or not, and turned back to Kagome who was looking at him with annoyance. "What?" He barked, feeling a little nervous about the way she was staring at him and hoping she wouldn't say the 's' word while he was up here.

"Can't you learn to be a little more sensitive?" Kagome sighed wearily. "Seriously, what kind of angel are you?"

"Do you have to ask that every ten minutes?" Inu-Yasha growled, settling back down into his position and trying to watch the city again. He could hear Kagome beside him and smell her too and began to growl with frustration. Dammit, he couldn't think with her this close! He looked back at her, where she was staring out where he had been watching. She seemed to feel his eyes on her and turned, to see him glaring. "Now what?" she asked, wondering what on earth she could have done to bother 'Kami' _this_ time.

"Can't you do to sleep or something? I'm trying to work here." Inu-Yasha growled.

"Work?" Kagome cocked her head to the side. Inu-Yasha _hated_ it when she did that, she looked way to damn cute. "What kind of work are you doing?"

"Watching out for demons." He said bluntly, as if talking to a stupid child. "It's the same work I do every day."

"You mean you just sit here and watch all night?" Kagome asked. Inu-Yasha almost fell off again. Did she sound sad? About him? This damn light must be fuddling with his mind, he thought, glaring at the flashing bulb. Kagome looked at the bulb then looked back up at him (oh hells, she even looked sad. What was with this light?) "Doesn't it get lonely?" she asked. 

Inu-Yasha stared at her dumbly. Or maybe the light was messing with her mind. "No, why would I care?" he said uncomfortably, looking back onto the city and deciding that he was going to ignore everything else she said.

Then he felt Kagome push his arm out of the way and, as he watched half-curiously, half-frightened, she sat down on his lap and put his arm back down. Inu-Yasha just sat there, dumbfounded, as Kagome lay her head against his shoulder. After a moment of silence, he managed to find his voice. "Ka-Kagome?" he stammered.

"Yes?"

"What the hell are you doing?" he said, half-hoping she would leave. The other half of him liked this, feeling her warmth and smelling her so close… Waitaminute, what the hell was he thinking? He should kick her off right now and get back to work. Besides, if a demon did come, how the hell would he be able to fight it if this… this… _girl_ was sitting on his lap?! 

After a moment of silence, Inu-Yasha's ears picked up her steady breathing and realized she had fallen asleep. "Oh twelve hells." He muttered, picking her up as gently as he could and jumping down from his roost. He walked silently over to where the others were sleeping and put Kagome down as softly as possible. Kagome opened her eyes slightly as Inu-Yasha set her down, and he swore at himself for waking her up. He decided, since she really didn't look that awake, to try and just let her fall asleep again. "Goodnight, Kagome."

She smiled. "You know what's nice?" she asked softly, closing her eyes again. Inu-Yasha was beginning to wonder if she was truly having a mental breakdown, but asked anyway. "What's nice?" he asked. 

"You haven't called me a wench in four hours. You've actually been calling me by my name." She said, her voice laden with sleep. Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes. You mean she was actually counting time? 

"Yeah well, good night wench."

"That wasn't a request."

"Whatever." He jumped back onto his post. He settled back down and closed his eyes, concentrating on the noises and smells of the city. Soon he was nearly asleep, although his ears still flickered around and gathered up noises. Even in his deepest sleep Inu-Yasha was still warily watching out for any possible dangers that could hurt him, Kagome or her friends. 

Kagome woke up with the sunlight in her face. She blinked, trying to figure out when she had left the curtains open in her room, and a breeze blew past her as well. Oh man, she had left the window open too. Now what, she was going to find out she had fallen asleep in her clothes?

Instinctively after that question she looked down and blanked. She was in her clothes, and she wasn't in her bed either. Instead she was on a concrete floor that was horribly dusty and rather cold. She sat up with a cry, looking around fearfully. She didn't know where she was, except that it was cold and outside. Was she on a roof?

Then it hit her and her memory came flooding back. That's right, she had died yesterday. She could feel that empty, heavy feeling inside of her returning and shook her head, trying to rid herself of the bad memories. There were good things too; obviously it wasn't a joy fest that she was dead, but she had made some new friends, still had a year left on Earth and, most wonderful of them all she thought sarcastically, had a guardian angel that made a lot of the delinquents in her school look like gentlemen. She giggled, remembering one of the trouble students in her old school and trying to picture him in a tux. Instead it came out as Inu-Yasha in a tux. Actually, he didn't look that bad…

"What's so funny wench?" Well, speak of the devil. Kagome's eyes narrowed and an evil grin spread across her face as she remembered something else about her guardian.

"Sit."

Kagome smiled, satisfied at the sounds of a crash and enough swearing you'd expect to kill an angel with, not to hear from one. She got up, dusted herself off, and turned around.

Inu-Yasha brushed the dust and debris from his hair, then sat up and shook his head to clear it. "Good fuckin' mornin' to you too." He grumbled, picking some of the more stubborn dirt out of his mop. Kagome narrowed her eyes at him again. "I don't want to hear that kind of language from you again." She said, shaking a finger at him. "I couldn't stand it when I was alive and I'm not going to stand it when I'm dead. 

"Fine, fine." Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes and stood up. "Listen, we're all going for breakfast. I was sent here to bring you along. You coming?"

Kagome was about to say 'no' just because her guardian was being so rude about it, then remembered what happened the last time she and Inu-Yasha were separated. Plus Sango and Miroku were going, so it wouldn't be that bad (provided she sat opposite from Miroku and made sure she could see his hands at all times). She sighed, wondered what she was going to do with all this, and stood up.

"Well of course I'm coming. I'm not staying out here to be eaten by some ugly demon again." She said pertly, turning around and leaving her angel behind her. Before Inu-Yasha could sputter more profanity,  Kagome saw the rest of her friends and ran up to them. "Sango-chan! Kirrara! Miroku! Shippo-chan!" The group turned and waved back as Kagome ran up to them. 

"Did you have a nice sleep?" Sango asked, helping Kagome up. They were standing on the edge of the fence overlooking the city while Miroku, who was most familiar with Tokyo being that Sango and Kagome were country girls, was looking around for someplace nice to go eat. Shippo sat on his head, also looking around and sniffing as well. 

Kagome nodded to Sango's question. "Yeah, except I forgot where I was when I woke up." She laughed and kicked her feet on the steel fence in embarrassment. Sango smiled sadly.

"That's alright, it's what happens for the first few days. Your subconscious doesn't really want to believe that- wants to believe the truth." She shook her head and scratched Kirrara on the chin. "There are some things you just have to face."

Kagome watched Sango curiously, and a little worried. Her friend seemed lost in her own thoughts and the smile had faltered. Kagome wondered how Sango was when she first died, then remembered what Sango had told her. _"I was murdered."_ Kagome wondered what the circumstances involved were with the other girl's death. "Sango…"

"Hey Miroku, you'd fall asleep or something?" Inu-Yasha's once again well-timed rude entry. Sango snapped out of her thoughts and both girls looked over to Kagome's guardian angel, who was looking up at the ghost boy with annoyance. Miroku smiled reassuringly and waved his gloved hand at Inu-Yasha. 

"Okay, okay, I think I found a place." He said. "It's not the best restaurant, but it's close by and their coffee's pretty good." Inu-Yasha wrinkled his nose at the word 'coffee' but nodded in agreement. "Then we'll go there." He said shortly and turned to the girls. "That 'k with you?"

The girls shrugged and Inu-Yasha snorted and took it for a yes. "Fine then. Kagome, get on my back."

"Wha-what?" Kagome stammered, taking a step back. Inu-Yasha looked at her with frustration. 

"I can run faster then you can, so it makes sense if you get on my back while we go to the restaurant." He said in a voice that made it seem like it was the simplest thing in the world. Kagome really didn't like his tone, but looked over to Sango for help. Sango thought about it, then nodded. 

"He's right, he could keep up with Kirrara when we were running here." She said. "And he doesn't seem to be Miroku's type, so I'm sure you're safe. I'll ride Kirrara." She looked over at her angel and nodded, and after an explosion of flame Kirrara transformed into a much larger version of herself. Kagome looked from Kirrara to Inu-Yasha and back again, then decided. She walked up over to Inu-Yasha. 

"Fine." She agreed. "But no funny business."

"Who do you think I am, Miroku?" Inu-Yasha snorted, then turned around so that  Kagome could climb on to his back.

"Why does everyone refer to my name as such a personality? They just met me." Miroku sighed from his seat behind Sango on Kirrara. Sango jumped and turned to Miroku. "What are you doing here?" Miroku looked back at her complete innocent. "Am I not wanted?" Sango sputtered, at loss for words, then turned around, her face red. "Fine, but no funny business either."

"Don't worry, I'll watch him." Shippo said pleasantly. Somehow, Sango still didn't feel that safe. 

"Are we going?" Inu-Yasha asked, perched atop the fence, waiting. Sango nodded and Kirrara took off. Inu-Yasha leaped after her and Kagome shrieked, holding onto his neck tightly. Inu-Yasha gagged, then glanced at Kagome as he ran/leaped from rooftop to rooftop after Kirrara with Miroku's directions. "Could you not hold on so tight?" he asked. Kagome tried to loosen her grip, but a quick jolt caused her to cling tightly again. She closed her eyes, certain she was going to fall and die again, when she felt strong arms underneath her. She opened her eyes and looked down, seeing Inu-Yasha's arms beneath her legs to hold her on more securely. 

"I'm not going to let you fall." Inu-Yasha said quietly, as if he wasn't used to reassuring people (which Kagome guessed he wasn't). Kagome blinked with surprise and loosened her grip. As she rested her head on his shoulder to keep his hair of her face, Kagome was awed by how high up they were and how gracefully Inu-Yasha was running, for an ungainly rude creature like him. She glanced over at him to judge his expression, but his face was poker, not revealing any of his thoughts. Kagome relaxed and let her guardian angel run and carry her to wherever Miroku and Shippo were taking them. 

Inu-Yasha may seem like a big jerk, she thought, but deep inside he's really a lot more caring then he lets on. I guess that's what makes him an angel.

Inu-Yasha, not hearing Kagome's thoughts, felt her relax in his grip and picked up speed. This wasn't going to be easy and he knew it. The afterlife never was. But he was chosen to protect her, and that was his job to the end. He would protect her, no matter what the cost.

Kagome stretched out, looking at the bustling morning streets of outer Tokyo and watching all the different colours of the auras of the people in the crowd. It was amazing that now she was dead the entire city seemed more vibrant with life then ever. The breakfast had been simply wonderful and now she felt energetic enough to enjoy 'the first day of the end of her life'.  That was a quote that Sango used and she had to admit, it was a cheerful way at looking at things. She looked over at the rest of her companions and turned around. "So, what are we gonna do now?"

Inu-Yasha couldn't believe she was being so perky, but before he could say anything Sango spoke up. "Well Kagome, I'm sure we could…" She paused. 

"Could what?" Kagome asked. Sango glanced over at Miroku and Shippo, then down at Kirrara. Seeming to be a bit more confident, she looked back over to her new friend. 

"We could go visit your family, and you could say goodbye to them." She suggested. A silence followed as Kagome contemplated the suggestion and everyone else waited to see how she would take it. She looked back up at them and smiled sadly. 

"I supposed I should do it now. They're probably all feeling really sad now anyway." She laughed hollowly. "Souta's probably crying like the little baby he is. Gramps is probably trying to guide my spirit or something with his stupid little pieces of paper…" her voice got softer and she stared at the ground. There was another silence until Inu-Yasha spoke up.

"So, was that a yes or a no? Are you going or not?" He snapped angrily. Kagome looked up, fire in her eyes and glared at her guardian. Inu-Yasha took a cautious step back as Kagome walked up to him then turned to Sango. "Can I ride on Kirrara?" she asked. 

Sango wasn't going to get involved with the feud and nodded. "Certainly Kagome." She looked over at Kirrara, who had already transformed, and helped Kagome up onto the angel's back. Kirrara took off to where Kagome directed her and everyone else watched her leave. Suddenly Inu-Yasha yelped, breaking the strange, silent trance that seemed to hang over them. 

"Hey!" he turned and barked at Sango. "You're just letting her go?! By herself?!"

Sango looked at him with a cold glare that froze him in his tracks, although in reality she couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor guardian who had no idea how to act, especially not when concerning his own emotions. He was just like a teenager, she thought, despite the fact that he's over 400 years old. "She has Kirrara, so she'll be fine at the moment. And this is something she has to face on her own. She's still a little emotional right now." She explained best she could.

"Sango's right." Miroku nodded and Inu-Yasha glared at him for adding his two-cents into the argument. "Lady Kagome needs to spend some time alone with her family. She has to get over her death and this is the fastest way to heal."

Inu-Yasha looked like he was about to argue, then decided to shut his mouth and pout instead. He would never understand mortals and these stupid 'emotions' they were always blabbering about. He snorted and stood there, watching the traffic and living humans pass by. He surprised everyone by managing to stay still for nearly a minute before he turned around again.

"Shouldn't we follow her by now?" he asked. "I mean, she wouldn't notice by now and we're actually not that far from her house anwa-"

"We'll go." Sango interrupted, trying not to laugh at the expression on Inu-Yasha's face before he composed himself. "I just wanted to see how long you could hold out for."

The only reason Inu-Yasha didn't kill her was because she was Kagome's friend.

Kagome stood in her bedroom, staring at everything. It looked exactly the same was when she left it, except all of her pictures had be moved onto her bed, along with all her clothes folded neatly into little piles. She could feel a lump in her throat as she went up and stroked all of the memorabilia. 

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, she thought and glanced outside to where Kirrara was waiting and watching for any demon that might show up. She turned back to her room then looked out the door. Her family was home; she could hear noises. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and walked through the door.

She followed the voices to the kitchen where she could hear her mother's voice. She blanked when she heard what her mother was saying. 

"…. Souta, there was something that I thought I should tell you when you got home from school today. It's… it's about Kagome."

Oh Kami, Kagome thought, she's just breaking the news now. Then again, it was probably the best move, with having the last half of Saturday and Sunday for the family to mourn. Her thoughts were interrupted by Souta's screaming. 

"Onee-chan's dead?!" he cried. "No!" he began bawling. Kagome could feel the pit in her stomach get heavier and she turned away, trying not to picture what her family would look like right now: Souta crying his eyes out, her mother trying to comfort him and her grandfather sitting there looking solemn and not speaking for once in his life. She clenched her fists, trying to keep the tears from coming. Why the hell was she here? This was a stupid idea. Stupid, stupid, stupid! 

"I'm sure she's in a better place now Souta." Kagome almost laughed at that. Better place? She was in the living room, eavesdropping on the conversation right now! How the hell was this better? She couldn't control the tears any longer and they came streaming down her face as she sank to the ground, her back against the wall. She began sobbing, echoing Souta, and she tried curling up into a ball. Why was she here? Why did she come? Dammit, why did she die in the first place?! She felt like her heart was going to explode, it hurt so much. All she wanted was to disappear right now, to erase the memories of this. Better place? This was closer to hell. 

"Kagome." Her inner turmoil was interrupted by a now familiar voice, and she looked up to see Inu-Yasha looking back down at her. His face was still as stone, but his voice and eyes were soft.

The guardian angel was shocked at Kagome's appearance; he had never seen her like this and her ghostly aura was overflowing with sadness. He struggled to keep a straight face, to try to be the voice of reason before Kagome panicked again. Sango and Miroku had tried to stop him from entering and confronting her, but they didn't know her like he did, they couldn't feel her sadness like he could, they couldn't relate to her like he was. But still, he thought watching the tears flow freely down her cheeks, he hadn't expected it to be this bad.

He knelt down to her level and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. She reminded him of a scared doe he had seen once, when his task had been a mortal huntsman. Her eyes carried the same look, the same fear of death right now. Except now she was already dead and her eyes showed more of her heart then the doe's had ever. His face softened as he wiped the tears from her face, mindful of his claws.

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome broke, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest, sobbing. "I shouldn't have come here. I don't belong here any more!" Inu-Yasha flattened his ears against his skull to quiet down her loud sobs and uncertainly hugged her back. He decided not to say anything this time, in case he managed to get himself into trouble again. 

The pair sat there, angel comforting mortal to the best of his abilities, unknown to them that a pair of unwelcome eyes watched them, feeding off of the emotions of sorrow and despair the mortal was emitting. They were getting stronger by the minute and soon ripe for feasting.

The eyes smiled.

End Chapter 4

Chapter 4's finished! Oh happy day! Now I just have to work on chapters 5-8 over the weekend. *blinks* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

WARNING: The author is experiencing technical difficulties. Please stand by. 

…

Well, I've certainly been getting positive remarks after I posted Chap. 3. I didn't know you guys were that hooked. And now that I know that it pops up at around 9:45-10:00-ish, I'll keep that in mind *grin*

I've now managed to write out the entire plot summary for this story so now I actually know in which direction I'm headed (yay!)The story actually –has- a plotline, it's not just 'Inu-Yasha and Kagome travel the world now that she's dead' or something like that. And a few people said Kikyou needs to be in the plot. She is. Just not yet. It's only the fourth chapter. But she'll be here. Don't worry. 

There have been a few questions on why all the demons are angels and if there's a specific meaning to that. The answer: no. I just happened to, ironically, make all the demons angels. Miroku was actually supposed to be an angel, but then I couldn't figure out the explanation behind Shippo's tail.

Oh right, I suppose, just not to be mean, I should give you a preview of chapter 5! I tried writing points down like last time, but it didn't really work very well. So instead I just grabbed a few paragraphs and stuck them on. It's easier this way and it makes you more curious. It doesn't reveal anything really of the chapter, but it's sure to keep you on your toes. (don't want anyone getting bored of my story already) Well, here it is!

PREVIEW CHAPTER 5: DEMON

_~ Inu-Yasha's reaction was anything but calm and formal. His eyes widened and he folded his ears back as he looked from Miroku to Kagome to Sango to Kagome and back to Miroku. "She can fuckin' WHAT?!" he freaked out, grabbing Miroku by the collar. "What did you fuckin' say?!"_

_"Inu-Yasha, sit!" Kagome shouted, sending Inu-Yasha slamming downwards. (luckily he let go of Miroku first, although Miroku did land rather hard on his rear end. It was better then having Inu-Yasha fall on him) Inu-Yasha swore as always and pushed himself up. He seemed more angry, however, at what Miroku said rather then Kagome's use of 'the word' and quickly walked over to Kagome. She looked at him and slid backwards a bit. She didn't like the look in his eyes at all: worry, anger and most of all, fear. He squatted down and looked her straight in the eye. Then he grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Is this true?!" he shouted.~_

And I'll leave you with that, to come up with your own questions and conclusions until you read it and discover you were wrong. ^_^

See ya'll on Monday night!

~Ama~ (If all else, blame the Jolt)


	5. Chapter 5: Journey

Yay! Chapter 5! The long awaited one! You all confused from my hint-hint? Be confused no more! Chapter 5 is here! (and by the way, you're all wrong. Probably.  A box of chocolate and some cookies to he/she that guessed right)

Disclaimer: If I owned Inu-Yasha that would mean I'm a filthy rich and ultra-famous manga-ka. I'm not.

**Chapter 5**

** Journey**

"Inu-Yasha…" Kagome sobbed, pressing her face tightly into her guardian angel's chest. Inu-Yasha stroked her hair, remembering a time when he had felt such a sadness in his heart. He couldn't fathom which was worse, dying or having a loved one die, but he knew the separation hurt. He held her close, doing his best to comfort her, to ease her sorrows. 

The eyes watched them from outside, the demon feeding off of the sorrow that the mortal was emitting. Soon, it thought to itself, soon. All it needed was for the angel to leave. Just to leave the mortal alone for a moment. One moment, that's all it needed. The mortal would never even scream. It laughed softly to itself, already imagining what the flesh would taste like. So sweet…

There! The angel was releasing the mortal, getting up. It was saying something, but dammit who cared! The mortal was listening, but half listening. The demon knew that the sorrow was too great, too delicious! It giggled to itself again. The angel was turning around now, yes, turning around and leaving! Oh, what a happy day! To feast on the soul of a Reborn! The demon waited, waited for the guardian to leave the room, to leave the house, and then, only then, did it slither inside.

Kagome almost didn't feel the strange temperature drop, so out of it she was, but she sensed it slightly. Just enough for her to notice. She remembered the last time she felt this type of energy, this chill down her spine, and she remembered what followed after that. Slowly she got up, steadied herself against the wall and wiped the tears from her face. She had to get out of here, to lead whatever it was away from her family and to reach Inu-Yasha in time. She took a deep breath and began walking down the hallway.

The feeling was getting stronger now, and she picked up speed. She had to get out of there and fast, she thought. Get to Inu-Yasha. It must have noticed her panic and hurry, because it was speeding up too. She started running through the hallway, her heart beating against her chest. She didn't want another repeat of yesterday. 

"Inu-Ya-" she was cut off and hit the ground hard, knocking the wind out of her. Her scream was silenced by a heavy weight on her head, pushing her face into the soft carpet.

"Where's your pain?" a voice whispered into her ear; a demon voice. "Where's your sorrow? Where's your sadness?" Another weight added itself to her chest, pushing her down. She couldn't breath again, couldn't breath. What was with these demons, killing her by taking her breath away. Was it the only way a ghost could die? Was it because it had to be one of the most painful ways? Or was she just lucky, getting all the suffocating ones?

The weight lifted off her head and the rough hand wrapped itself around her neck. "Cry." The raspy voice came again. "Cry so I can feed off your sorrows. So I can taste your sweet, sweet flesh."

Kagome wanted to scream but she couldn't with the weight on her chest. Let go of me, she thought closing her eyes tightly, let go. Let go, let go, let go, let go, let go, let go! She felt a curious energy form inside her as she struggled. 

"What's this?" the demon hissed, and the weight was released from her chest. Kagome opened her eyes and turned around, to see a strange, half-human half-freakish creation standing over her with burned hands. It glared at her with red eyes and snarled with a mouthful of teeth. "So, you have mastered your powers more then I thought! And The Master said you were newdead! Well Reborn, I will feast on you anyway!" it roared and lunged at her and Kagome screamed, rolling out of the way. She got up and began running, the snarling demon chasing after her with unbelievable speed. "Inu-Yasha!" Kagome shouted with a volume born of fear. She raced outside, where her guardian was nowhere to be seen. "INU-YASHA!"

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha suddenly appeared, jumping down in front of her. His right hand was rested on his sword and he snarled at the demon. The twisted creature snarled back, his face twisted into a grotesque grin.

"So you are the guardian, you are the angel, protecting the Reborn, are you?" it asked in it's rasping voice. "Let me kill it, let me taste it, let me feed upon it's flesh!" Kagome felt very, very sick and hid behind Inu-Yasha.

The angel spat to the side and drew his sword. "Reborn, eh?" he glanced back at Kagome, who was now wondering just what a Reborn was. "So that's why you assholes are always after Kagome. Well guess what," he positioned himself ready for battle. "You can't have her!"

The demon hissed in it's laughter. "But The Master says, The Master orders, I can taste flesh, I can taste Reborn. I dearly, dearly want to eat, little angel."

"The Master?" Inu-Yasha growled, his grip on his sword tightening. The demon hissed some more. 

"Yes, yes, The Master, my Master. Heard of him, have you not, little half? Naraku be his name, The Master Naraku, yes indeed." The thing danced around, giggling insanely.

Naraku? Kagome's eyes widened. Wasn't that the demon that Miroku said killed him, the name that got such a reaction out of Inu-Yasha? At that thought she turned to look at her guardian, who was glaring the utmost death upon the demon. 

"You bastard…." Inu-Yasha snarled. "Just because I screwed up once…" he tightened his grip on the sword so hard Kagome thought he was going to break the handle. Then she felt a large flash of dark energy and before her eyes Inu-Yasha's katana transformed into a giant, magnificent sword. Inu-Yasha snarled and raised the sword above his head. "Doesn't mean I'm going to fuckin' screw up AGAIN! _Tetsusaiga_!"

 He swung the sword, cutting the demon in half and in a flash of brilliant youki and light, the demon was gone. Kagome watched as Inu-Yasha stood there, breathing heavily, his eyes not leaving where the demon had once stood. The sword changed back to it's original state but Inu-Yasha didn't seem to notice. To Kagome, he seemed trapped in his own little world. 

"Reborn eh… fuckin' bastard. So I screwed up once, I'm not letting that asshole kill her again. That's all he wants, isn't it? Hasn't had enough fuckin' fun, has he? Well I'll show him. I'll kill him, just like I promised. I never break a promise." He muttered, then seemed to remember where he was. He stood up, put the sword back into it's sheath and turned around. He walked back over to Kagome, who wasn't quite sure whether she should be thanking him or running away now. He looked her straight in the eye. "You 'k?" he asked. 

Kagome nodded, a little relieved he wasn't going to go insane and kill her. Inu-Yasha stood there for a minute, studying her face. Then an ironic smirk appeared on his face and he turned away. "Fuckin' right." He muttered, before beginning to walk away. He turned back and looked at Kagome. "You coming?" he asked. Kagome recomposed herself and raced after her guardian, now more then ever afraid to be separated from him.

"Reborn? Are you sure?" Miroku asked, concern on his face. He looked over at where Kagome and Sango were talking and digested everything Inu-Yasha had just told him. The angel followed his gaze and snorted, causing Miroku to look back at him. Shippo looked concerned as well.

"If she was a Reborn, then who is she?" the little fox-angel muttered. "And why would Naraku send a flunky like him after her?"

"Playing." Inu-Yasha spat angrily. "He's playing with us. It's how he operates, like everything's just a game to him. A sick, twisted game where he makes up the rules. It's disgusting." He looked back over at the girls, as Kagome retold the battle to Sango. "Ever since Kagome was little, demons had been going after her more so then usual. I thought it just might be because there are more demons in the area then before; looks like I was wrong." He turned back to Miroku and Shippo before getting up and leaving to think alone. The other two let him leave.

Kagome watched Inu-Yasha leave, then turned back to Sango. She was trying to piece everything together, but nothing seemed to fall into place. It was like this was a giant jigsaw puzzle, and half the pieces were missing. What was a Reborn? Who was Naraku and why did he have ties with Inu-Yasha? Why did he kill Miroku? And where did she fall into this? She hadn't heard the boys' conversation but she was certain it was about what the demon said. 

"Kagome? You alright?" Sango broke through Kagome's thoughts and the girl shook her head to clear it. "Oh, sorry Sango. Where was I?"

"You were telling me about Inu-Yasha's sword." Sango said, stroking Kirrara's two fluffy tails. 

"Oh right." Kagome remembered now. "It… changed somehow. Because a completely different sword. He called it Tetsusaiga or something like that."

"Tetsusaiga?" Sango looked at Kagome, and then at Kirrara. All these strange names: Reborn, Naraku, Tetsusaiga. "That's an odd name for a sword."

Kagome nodded. There certainly was something peculiar about it, and not just the name. "It had the strangest energy." She mused aloud. "It wasn't like yours, or mine or the angels. It was dark and powerful, more like the demons." And like Inu-Yasha's, she added mentally. She had noticed that Inu-Yasha's energy felt darker and deeper then the other two angels she met, but decided to keep it to herself. But now that the Tetsusaiga problem had arisen…

"Waitaminute," Sango interrupted her. "What do you mean, energy?"

Kagome blinked at her, confused. "Energy, you know, like the aura. Haven't you noticed that when you die everything seems to get a different aura, an energy level? It's…" she waved her hands in the air absentmindedly, trying to find a good way to explain. "It's like way somebody feels when you first meet them, not physically, but like a sixth sense or something, you know?"

She didn't like the look Sango was giving her. "No," Sango said slowly. "I don't know. Alive or dead I've seen people the same way. No aura, no energy, no nothing."

"But…" Kagome trailed off. Sango didn't feel the difference? At all? Maybe I should ask Miroku, she thought, that way we'll see which one of us is… is different. She opened her mouth but Sango beat her to it.

"Houshi-sama! Get over here!" she shouted. Miroku and Shippo looked up at them, then got up and came over. Miroku sat down beside Sango and held his hands up to show her where they were as a gesture of peace. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Sango looked over at Kagome worriedly. "Miroku," she turned back to him, trying to sound as casual as possible. "Do you feel… oh, how do I put this?" she paused for a second, trying to find a way to say it without Miroku making some type of perverted comment or action. "Can you like, do you, when you died did it seem that the living people changed?"

Miroku looked a little confused at the question. "Changed? In what way?"

"Like an aura." Kagome tried explaining. "It's kind like a small feeling of energy, a sense. Like a glow around the person, except you can't see it, only feel it." She knew she was either bad at explaining things or the odd one out when Miroku's face mirrored that of Sangos. The monk looked at Sango then back at Kagome, trying to stay calm although inwardly he was very, very worried. "So how do our… auras feel?" he asked, trying his hardest not to sound perverted. This was no laughing matter.

Kagome felt like some freak being experimented on by scientists, but answered his question anyway. "Like…" she concentrated. "Well Sango's is a deep red feel and yours is a deep violet and you both feel confused. Kirrara and Shippo both have a sort of… light feel to them. Most demons feel really dark." She knew she wasn't getting anywhere with this and doing as good a job confusing herself as with confusing all the rest. She was getting frustrated and wished she had just never brought it up. "Listen, I just noticed this at first, so maybe I'm just going crazy or something! I sense things and that's all!"

Sango, Kirrara, Miroku and Shippo all looked at each other, then back at Kagome. "Does Inu-Yasha know about this, Kagome?" Sango asked quietly.

"Do I know about what?" Inu-Yasha's voice came from behind them and they all jumped up and turned to see the red-garbed angel standing behind them, looking a bit miffed at being left out of what seemed to be an important discussion. "Well?" he barked after a moment with no one talking. "What do I know about?"

"Uh…" there was a moment's hesitation as everyone wondered if they should tell him or not. Miroku decided to take the matter into his own hands. "Inu-Yasha, did you know about Kagome's unique abilities to sense the aura of the living and otherwise?" he asked, keeping it as calm and formal as possible. 

Inu-Yasha's reaction was anything but calm and formal. His eyes widened and he folded his ears back as he looked from Miroku to Kagome to Sango to Kagome and back to Miroku. "She can fuckin' WHAT?!" he freaked out, grabbing Miroku by the collar. "What did you fuckin' say?!"

"Inu-Yasha, sit!" Kagome shouted, sending Inu-Yasha slamming downwards. (luckily he let go of Miroku first, although Miroku did land rather hard on his rear end. It was better then having Inu-Yasha fall on him) As Inu-Yasha swore as always and pushed himself up. He seemed more angry, however, at what Miroku said rather then Kagome's use of 'the word' and quickly walked over to Kagome. She looked at him and slid backwards a bit. She didn't like the look in his eyes at all: worry, anger and most of all, fear. He squatted down and looked her straight in the eye. Then he grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Is this true?!" he shouted.

"SIT!" Kagome shouted and Inu-Yasha fell.

Face first onto her lap.

Kagome screamed, jumped up and hid behind Sango, who looked undecided as to whether she should laugh or not, while Miroku already made his decision and was laughing his head off. Shippo and Kirrara exchanged smirks at their fellow angel's misfortunes, glad that the dark mood of the situation had been lightened at least. Inu-Yasha sat up, his face as red as his kimono, and kept his back to the rest of the group, pouting. "Try to understand something and everyone gets on your case." He grumbled. 

"It's all right Inu-Yasha," Sango tried to calm down the rest of the group, managing to bring Kagome down to low octave hysterics and kicked Miroku so he would get the point, which he did. The older girl picked up Kirrara, who aided calming Kagome down by nuzzling against her cheek. Sango looked over at the furious dog-eared boy. "What's so special about Kagome feeling energies anyway?"

Inu-Yasha visibly stiffened, but kept his back to the group. "Nothing." He muttered almost inaudibly. Sango frowned and was about to reprimand him for getting so worked up over 'nothing', but Miroku beat her to it.

"Does it have anything to do with her being a Reborn?" he asked. Inu-Yasha got up and walked over to the monk and glared at him. "What did we discuss about keeping this quiet?" he growled between clenched fangs. Miroku laughed nervously as his own tiny 'guardian' hid behind his back. Stupid Shippo, he was supposed to be protecting him, not hiding from others of his kind, even if they were nearly demonic themselves. 

"What _is_ a Reborn?" Kagome asked, turning everyone's attention to her. "I keep getting called that, but I don't even know what it means. Is it bad or something?" She noticed that Shippo, Miroku and Inu-Yasha, even Kirrara, were avoiding her gaze. "Hey, look at me!"

"Well, Reborns don't happen very often." Shippo said, still not looking at Kagome. "It's… it's hard to explain."

"Does it have something to do with this Naraku guy?" Kagome asked, her focus on Shippo so that she didn't see Inu-Yasha flinch, although Sango did. The guys didn't answer, so Kagome tried again. "Who is this Naraku guy anyway? If he's trying to kill me, I think I have a right to know!"

There was a pause as the others thought about this answer. Finally Miroku sighed and turned to Kagome. "I suppose you should learn a bit about the demon." He said, earning him glances from the rest; worried by Shippo, curious by Sango and Kirrara and angry from, surprise, surprise, Inu-Yasha. "You see," he explained. "Naraku is a powerful demon from Hell, whose intentions aren't really known. He existed many, many years ago and was slain by a group of adventurers, including my ancestor, but unfortunately has been… " He searched for a better choice of words but found none. "…reborn again. When I found out about this, I set out to kill him as my many-times-great grandfather did before me. However, Naraku is much more powerful then he used to be, and has gained a legion of demons, all who refer to him as 'The Master'. He's much stronger then before and nearly has the power of a Great Demon. Just before he killed me, he cursed my afterlife with this Air Rip." 

He looked at his gloved and beaded right hand, which Kagome remembered he was going to use in the fight where she met him before Shippo stopped him. "This Air Rip in the palm of my hand can be useful; it can suck up anything into it's void, much like a black hole. However, just before my final day in the after life it will open up and swallow me whole, destroying me completely. Only this rosary keeps it from sucking up everything in a ten meter radius right now." 

"Miroku…" Kagome said, trying to think of some way to cheer a person up when they're facing total destruction of their soul. However, Sango interrupted her. 

"Waitaminute, you said the demons that followed Naraku refer to him as 'The Master'?" She asked roughly. Kagome looked at Sango in surprise, seeing the same fire in her friends eyes as when they had first met. Miroku also looked at the girl with mild bewilderment. 

"Yes, that's what they refer to him now. It's either a stupid term of respect or all of his demon followers believe in the Beetlejuice syndrome and think he'll pop up if they say his name to often." Miroku snorted. Sango either didn't get the joke or didn't find it funny. Instead she was looking at Kirrara, grim determination in her eyes. 

"I-I was killed by a… by a demon too." She said slowly, running back over sentences as if trying to cover up something or, more likely, not knowing how to phrase it. "A demon that possessed my brother. He made my brother kill me and my family. And…" she choked, fighting the lumps in her chest and throat. "He referred to his boss as 'The Master'. It was always 'The Master' this and 'The Master' that…" her voice trailed off.

Kagome gasped. She had known Sango had been killed, but not that it was by the hand of her brother. Sango sat here, staring at her clenched fists in her lap. Kagome put a hand on her friends shoulder. "Sango-"

"Let's go." Sango lifter her head up, that familiar fire burning in her eyes. "We all have a score to settle with Naraku." She smiled darkly, looking from Miroku to Inu-Yasha. "Let's go kill the bastard."

Inu-Yasha smirked. You had to admire the spunk in these mortals these days. All action and no brains… it's little wonder they got themselves killed so quickly. 

"We're with you." Kagome said, earning looks from both her guardian and Miroku. She stood up, a look in her eyes as fierce as Sango's. "I don't know this Naraku guy, but he sounds like a total ass. I say we go after him and stop him before he hurts anymore people."

And then there were those who were either too naïve or too stupid to count as spunk, Inu-Yasha added mentally, looking at his task. She helped Sango up, a determined look on her face, and looked over at Inu-Yasha. She smiled and pointed her finger to the sky. 

"I, Higurashi Kagome, swear on my afterlife that I will do everything in my power to kill this Naraku guy before my year is up!" She vowed. Sango and Kirrara looked at each other, unsure of how to react on Kagome's attitude. Then they both decided that no harm could come of it, and whatever Kagome had caught appeared to be contagious. Sango put up her hand and placed it on top of Kagome's, lowering it a bit. "And I, Taichisa Sango, vow to protect my best friends life at all costs and revenge my family!"

Inu-Yasha watched this strange procession, as Kirrara added her paw and vowed to protect Sango (although all Kagome heard were meows) and the dog-eared angel tried to understand just what was going on. 

"You have to admit, they have spunk." Miroku said beside him. Inu-Yasha just looked at him as if he were insane, watching Miroku and Shippo go up and add their own vows to slay the evil demon, much to the delight of the girls when Shippo tried to look important and ended up looking cute. Now everyone was looking at him. "What?" He protested, knowing he hadn't done anything wrong this time. 

"Aren't you going to join us?" Kagome asked in that voice that always got her everything. He should know, he'd seen her do it enough times. Inu-Yasha just looked at them all, convinced they had snapped. 

"You have a score to settle with Naraku too, don't you?" Miroku asked. 

"And wouldn't it feel good to kick his ass?" Sango said, an evil grin on her face. 

"C'mon, it'll be an adventure!" Shippo squeaked/bounced and Kirrara nodded, adding in a 'mew'. Somehow, Inu-Yasha thought, there just wasn't something appealing about going for an 'adventure' with Shippo. But everyone else had a point. 

"Well…" he started uncertainly, then stopped. What the hell was he thinking? Of course he had a score to settle with Naraku! Look at all the shit he had done, and Inu-Yasha knew he'd do ever more if he wasn't stopped. Besides, he killed him once and he was going to do it again. He looked at the group, grinning a fanged grin that made him look dangerous and more demonic then angelic, and he walked over to the group. 

"You guys are all a bunch of idiots." He said, earning a few glares (Shippo and Sango), a sigh at his attitude (Miroku) and the 's' and ''i' of his dreaded word from Kagome before he interrupted with the rest of his sentence. "But I'm joining along anyway."

He placed a clawed hand onto everyone else's.

End chapter 5

And another one bites the dust! The plot's getting a nice little push forwards now and things should be starting to pick up! Are you all excited? Can you see where this is going? Can you tell me, so I have an idea too? Just kidding.

I got to watch more Inu-Yasha and I just love his full youkai self! I'm not an Inu-Yasha fangirl like my sister, so she was traumatized while I found it rather amusing. And his voice is really, really cool. I'm so glad I don't have to watch the English one. When they finally get to that episode ('when' being the operative word) they're probably going to ruin it. Dubbers always do.

And I'd just like to add that Kagura is really, really trying hard to get to the top of the 'Inu-Yasha characters I hate the most'. Kikyou's still beating her, but just barely. I really can't stand Kagura. 

And one final note: I wanna be Rin!

Well, that's all for today's little Rant-'o'-Ama. See you all Wednesday for instalment number 6! 

~Ama~


	6. Chapter 6: Flames

Hurray, hurrah, hurroo! Guess what I saw yesterday? Spirited Away! It is one of the greatest anime movies I have ever seen, ever! If you haven't seen it already, GO. Even though it's dubbed, Disney actually did a reasonable job. And Kohaku's in it! (you'll see)

Disclaimer: I own kitty ears. But no doggy-ears.

**Chapter 6 **

**Flames**

Winged as it was, the demon was having trouble making through the skies of the underworld. The black and dreary skies were filled with the cries of the dammed and often jets of cold air would plummet its flight. But it kept steadily on, flying through pathways of polluted clouds and stagnant air, making its way to it's lord.

The crow demon was a common creature of pestilence in Hell, and thus not regarded as any type of suspicion. That was why its master used it and the small brained creature was proud of it's usefulness. It was too stupid to realize that if it died there were hundreds of others of it's kind, willing to give their loyalty for a hunk of flesh. It was why many demons had joined. The promise of soul was tantalizing, the promise of flesh enough to make any common demon turn its head. 

All it had to do was watch what it was told to watch and then report back, all while avoiding the high areas and the Great Lords. What the crow saw and heard was The Master's business and The Master's business alone.  Therefore, to keep away from the Lords The Master stayed in this dank hole, swarming with enough pestilence to make a rat squirm. 

The demon banked left, recognizing the smell that could only be the poisonous pit of a volcano The Master made his home in. The crow demon avoided rocks, clouds and the odd demon here and there to make it's way into a small hole made solely for it. The Master took no chances and offered no mercy to followers.  

The crow followed the small tunnel until it came to a cave in the heart of the volcano. Inside was less horrid then the out, where at least a few trees grew. Dead trees, but decoration nonetheless. And in the center stood an ancient Japanese-style castle, encircled by a wall of bones and a moat of blood. 

The demon cawed twice as it had been instructed, heralding it's presence. It landed on a femur bone by a window, waiting to be brought inside. The window was opened quickly and roughly and the hard eyes of a humanoid female demon, dressed in a classic kimono and carrying a fan, met the eyes of the crowbird. The delicately painted mouth was in a dainty frown as the demon surveyed the scruffy demon. 

"You're late." She sniped harshly, stepping aside so that the crow could fly in to deliver it's news. The demon ignored her comments, as she was merely a servant like it since class and rank meant nothing to a demon of it's low intelligence, and flew right past her. The female demon slammed the window behind it, catching a few tail feathers, and sneered in it's direction. "The Master was expecting you nearly half an hour ago."

Crow demons have no sense of time, but the demon didn't even know that much to tell her, if it could tell her anyway. It's voice was only for The Master, for he had made it so.

The demon flew down the corridor and into another dimly-lit room, opened by the female again. The chamber inside was decorated in ancient Japanese fashion, although lit only by two lamps of witch fire, making the interior impossibly cold. Tattered tapestries depicting gruesome tortures hung on the wall and rotting, bloodstained carpets lay across the floor. The paper windows were bloodstained and let nearly no light through, and the place stank of incense. In the center of the floor on a circular mat hand woven from the hairs of humans sat a demon that emitted such a powerful aura he seemed to glow even to the lesser youkai. The Master's face was hidden beneath the blue skull of a bamboo demon, his body cloaked by the same demons white fur. 

The crow flew in and landed in front of The Master, cawing it's news to the lord. As the crow spilled it's news the greater demon never moved and sat there as if dead. Only when the crow demon finished did any sign of movement occur, when underneath his mask The Master smiled. 

"As I, Naraku have thought, she is the Reborn." He said quietly, to either himself or the crowbird. "And stronger then I thought, having already mastered her powers. Pity though, I almost wished the grave robber had lived. It's much better to hear these things from experience."

The crow cawed again, reminding The Master of something it may not have said earlier, which it hadn't. Naraku made no move, but was interested in the news the crow demon had just given. 

"Hmm, so he's the guardian, is he? How… ironic." He sat there for a moment, thinking to himself, rolling over the information the bird had given him. When the smaller demon began to shift uncomfortably for sitting so long, The Master seemed to notice it was there. 

"Oh, are you still here? Well, leave now. Go through the exit in the back door." He waved a hand impatiently and the crowbird took wing quickly, flying over The Master's head and leaving through a small exit in the back. After another moment of stillness and silence, Naraku spoke again. 

"Kagura." He called sharply, as if impatient that his servant wouldn't appear sooner. The door opened and the female demon stood in the entrance, holding her fan halfway with a look of earnest and confusion on her face. 

"Yes Master?" she asked, wondering what he would call for. He hadn't made a move in a while towards the other two existences, but now whatever news the crow had given him must have been important.

"Get ready to leave. I have a job for you."

Her lips curled in a smile and she raised her fan to cover half her face. "Yes Master."

_Very_ important indeed.

"Frankly I don't really see the point." Inu-Yasha grumbled as he was led through the streets by the rest of the group, not even bothering to move out of the way of living pedestrians and leaving a lot of the afternoon strollers with a chill up their spine. Kagome frowned at her guardian's ill manners.

"Inu-Yasha, I don't know how often you sleep outside, but frankly I don't _want_ to. If Shippo can get us a hotel, I want a hotel." She turned back and kept walking, mobbing out of the way when she could, unlike the irate angel. Inu-Yasha snorted. 

"It's the middle of the freakin' day!" he argued. "The hell do we need a hotel for now?"  Nobody bothered to answer. It was all clear to them that anything they said would either be ignored or argued against. There was just no reasoning with some people. Inu-Yasha grumbled after realizing that no one was bothering to respond and began to argue with the only person that would listen: himself.

"Let's go find a hotel and sleep through the day like bats." He muttered to himself in a high-pitched voice. "Let's go waste our time sightseeing in the city. Let's go have fun running around on the streets. It'll be fun!" He sighed, as if he were the only intelligent one in the group. "Baka, all of them."

"Does he always talk to himself like this?" Shippo asked Kagome quietly so that Inu-Yasha wouldn't hear. The girl looked back at the young angel and shrugged. "I've known him about as long as you have. My guess is as good as yours." She whispered back. Shippo glanced back at Inu-Yasha, still muttering to himself, and sighed. He had finally found someone more difficult then Miroku. 

Suddenly said mortal stopped, and Shippo looked down at his task. "What's wrong Miroku?" he asked, sitting up straight on the boy's shoulder. The monk was looking around the area, as if looking for something. Shippo looked up as well and closed his eyes, sniffing. Then his eyes opened again and he smiled. "Hey, it's the old neighborhood! I thought it looked familiar!"

"The old…" Kagome looked at the both of them in confusion, Sango mirroring her expression. Miroku and Shippo looked at them and smiled. Miroku waved his hand in the air, indicating the area. "This is where I used to live when I was young before I moved." He looked around, smiling. "I still remember everything. Except that tattoo store." His eyebrows furrowed as he looked across the street and Shippo sighed, rolling his eyes. The girls giggled. 

"Didn't you say we had somewhere important to go?" Inu-Yasha asked, butting into Miroku's trip down memory lane. Kagome dearly wondered what she had ever done to deserve such a guardian angel. Angel being the operative word. 

Miroku looked over at the dog-eared boy and nodded, looking over his shoulder to the left. "If I remember correctly there should be a terminal nearby. I should be able to find a decent hotel for Shippo to reserve for us. In the mean time, there's a restaurant chain just down the corner." He indicated with his hand. Inu-Yasha snorted and started walking the direction the monk pointed, leaving the rest behind. Kagome was beginning to get annoyed with his attitude. Then she noticed Miroku was leaving across the street. "Where are you going?" she asked. 

"To remember my old stomping grounds!" he called back, jumping on top of a Toyota and surveying the tall buildings of apartments and other towers. Then he jumped down again and disappeared into the crowd.

"Should we let him go?" Kagome asked Sango and the older girl shook her head. 

"He'll be able to find us again and he'll know his way around here if he used to live here." Sango explained, turning in the direction Inu-Yasha went. "Besides, he's been dead for awhile. He'll be fine." She turned her full attention to where she was going, and looked around. "But on the other hand, where's Inu-Yasha?"

"What?" Kagome looked around, not being able to see her guardian anywhere. "Inu-Yasha!" Silence. "Grr… where'd he go?"

"Well, follow the clues." Sango began walking down the sidewalk in the basic direction. "We know he went this way, and he'll probably be in the one of the restaurants Miroku mentioned. Besides, both you and Kirrara should be able to sense him easily enough."

Kagome followed behind her friend, glancing back to where Miroku vanished then turning back trying to find Inu-Yasha. Her guardian had been moody lately, ever since this morning. It might have been Naraku, since he had been moody since they had found out who it was that had killed Miroku. But then again, Inu-Yasha had been moody since she had first met him. But still, now…She wondered if it had anything to do with the news of her… abilities. His reaction certainly hadn't been good then, she remembered. 

_~"Inu-Yasha, did you know about Kagome's unique abilities to sense the aura of the living and otherwise?" Miorku asked, keeping it as calm and formal as possible. _

_Inu-Yasha's reaction was anything but calm and formal. His eyes widened and he folded his ears back as he looked from Miroku to Kagome to Sango to Kagome and back to Miroku. "She can fuckin' WHAT?!" he freaked out, grabbing Miroku by the collar. "What did you fuckin' say?!"_

_"Inu-Yasha, sit!" Kagome shouted, sending Inu-Yasha slamming downwards. She didn't like the look in his eyes at all: worry, anger and most of all, fear. Inu-Yasha squatted down and looked her straight in the eye. Then he grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Is this true?!" he shouted._

_"SIT!" Kagome shouted and dog boy fell into a rather, er, unpleasant spot. Kagome screamed, jumped up, and hid behind Sango, leaving a very embarrassed Inu-Yasha to pout. "Try to get hold of a situation and everyone gets on your back." He grumbled_

_Sango tried to calm both him and Kagome down while stopping her own laughter. "What's so special about Kagome feeling energies anyway?" She asked._

_Inu-Yasha visibly stiffened, but kept his back to the group. "Nothing." He muttered almost inaudibly. _

_"Does it have anything to do with her being a Reborn?" Miroku asked. Inu-Yasha got up and walked over to the monk and glared at him. "What did we discuss about keeping this quiet?" he growled between clenched fangs. ~_

She still didn't know what a Reborn was, and she wondered if she would ever find out. Whenever the word came up somehow the subject always changed. It was as if the angels were hiding something from her. She wondered what could be so important about Reborns that the guardians won't even tell their tasks about. Or Inu-Yasha was just being picky. 

"Oh, here he is." Sango interrupted Kagome's thoughts. She looked up to see Sango pointing at a Wacdnald's, where one could see Inu-Yasha leaning against the building looking for all the world like a strange decoration, if you didn't count the fact that some people were walking through him. Kagome sighed. This was going to be a long day.

"Oi, Inu-Yasha!" Sango yelled as she and Kagome crossed the street. The angel looked up and gave a curt, very curt, nod in their direction. When the other two girls reached the sidewalk, only then did he move by getting up and stretching. "So, are we going in or what?" he asked as if he could care less. 

A VERY long day.

Kagome ignored her guardian and walked right by him in the restaurant. She looked around at the number of people inside and decided there was a good chance of what she wanted to be out.

When the concept of breakfast had first been introduced to her she didn't really understand how exactly ghosts ate; after all, they were dead. Then Sango and Miroku explained, or at least tried to, that there was a strange type of astral plane that spirits lived on, some type of supernatural force field that surrounds everything. It was the reason ghosts could stand on roofs and still go through walls and apparently the concept worked on food too. Regular food was easy if you just wanted an apple or a fish or something since all you had to do was grab it (which Kagome noticed Inu-Yasha did a lot). The regular food was still there, but the astral plane duplicate was gone and busy being put into the eater's stomach. Special dishes were different, however. If you wanted a specialty from a restaurant you had to wait until it was already prepared; ghosts weren't able to create their own meals using original foods. The entire concept of it required a lot of physics that Kagome really didn't understand. She had never liked physics anyway. 

Now, as she stood in the Wacdnald's, she looked around for her favorite meal. Sango came up beside her and looked around as well. Then she grinned and pointed. "Look Kirrara, that guy just ordered a cheeseburger and fishsticks! What a break!" the girl and her guardian took off, leaving Kagome and Inu-Yasha by themselves. 

"So, what do you like?" Kagome asked, scanning the crowd as an excuse not to look at the angel. Inu-Yasha did the same. 

"I really don't care." He said. "Although the double ones are pretty good." Kagome had to smile at that. Even when they were supernatural deities, boys still had a bottomless pit for a stomach. Her guardian shrugged and snatched out, grabbing a double burger from some passing guy's tray and taking a giant bite out of it. He noticed Kagome's eyes on him and swallowed quickly. "What?"

"Why are you avoiding me?" She asked and Inu-Yasha almost choked on his next bite. He looked at her. "What?"

"You've been avoiding me since this morning." Kagome said simply. "Why?"

"Eh…" Inu-Yasha backed up, thinking frantically. "No I haven't." When in doubt, deny. 

"Yes, you have." Kagome said sharply. "You haven't spoken to me since this morning and I want to know why. Is it something I did?"

The angel was suddenly horribly fascinated by his burger. "No." he mumbled, flicked off a sesame seed with a claw. 

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome stormed up to him and grabbed one of his little doggy-ears, pulling his head in her direction so that he would be forced to look at her. Something in his eyes caught her off guard however, and the pair of them stood frozen, her hand still clutching his ear, his claws still halfway to flicking off another seed. They stood there for Kami knows how long when Sango's voice broke whatever spell was hanging over them. 

"Fire!" She shouted, jumping over tables to land beside the frozen pair. They both snapped out of their trance and turned to look at her. She was breathing heavily and the giant boomerang Kagome had seen before was strapped to her back again. Kagome looked at it, wondering once again what it was. "Sango, what-?"

"Come on!" Sango interrupted, grabbing Kagome and Inu-Yasha's arms and dragging them outside. Their attention was immediately brought to a building on fire, Miroku and Shippo running up to meet them. 

"What's gong on?" Inu-Yasha barked, food forgotten. Miroku stopped in front of them, out of breath, and then looked up at the four. 

"A demon has set that office building on fire." He said. "Luckily it was still under construction, so nobody got seriously injured. There are, however, injuries." A few sirens broke through the air and they watched as the ambulances and fire trucks pulled up to burning building, as fire fighters and paramedics set about to do their work. Kagome's heart almost stopped when she saw one ambulance, recognizing it immediately, remembering that it was around this time, just yesterday…

"Kagome!" Sango was shaking her and shouting her name, and Kagome turned to looking at her blankly. "I'm sorry what?" she asked, not having heard the previous bit of Sango's question.

"I asked you if you have any experience in weapons." The older girl repeated, and Kagome noticed that Sango's outfit had changed as well, now being black with pink and red ribbons, along with the giant boomerang. 

"Well… I've done some archery." Kagome started.

"Good enough." Sango cut in. "Remember how to change? Now just think of a bow and arrow in your hands."

Kagome blinked for a second, then realized what Sango was asking. She nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating on the feel of a quiver of arrows and a bow in her hands. She tried to remember every detail about them so that she could envision them to their extreme. She suddenly felt a weight and opened her eyes, seeing the quiver full of arrows and the bow clutched in her fists. 

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha shouted from the top of the fire truck where he was perched. He could smell the demon underneath all the fire and the smoke, a regular fire demon all right. Spirits couldn't help stop the fire or save lives, but they could at least kill the demon. He clenched his claws in anticipation, then looked back over at his task. She had the bow and arrows now. Good. If she was anything like… like before then this should be simple. Sango and Miroku were inside, along with their angels, trying to lure the demon out. Inu-Yasha and Tetsusaiga could easily take care of it, but he knew Sango was probably hoping that Kagome would shoot it and help out too, or else she wouldn't have asked Kagome to get weapons. 

There. He could feel it. Inu-Yasha looked down to see full-formed Kirrara and Shippo with fists full of foxfire emerge from the building, then a bright red flash jumped over head, followed by Sango's boomerang. Weapon and demon made contact and the pyro demon was down for the count. Inu-Yasha grinned. Showtime.

He jumped down, ready to kick some serious demon butt and to show all these guys just how cool he was. As he landed a few feet away from the demon he froze. No, this couldn't be. He could smell it. Dimly, but it was there, that foul stench he would never forget. He looked down at the demon and snarled. 

Sango caught her boomerang as it came back and watched Inu-Yasha land. Good, she thought, he's going to finish him off. But instead of just killing it with that sword of his, Inu-Yasha picked the flaming demon up by the neck and started shaking it, trying to wake it up. What was wrong with him?

"What's he doing?" Miroku asked, coming up beside her. Sango could only watch as Inu-Yasha dropped the demon, spit on his burning hands, and then kick the pyro for his trouble. It certainly looked like he wanted to wake the thing up. But what would Inu-Yasha want with a pyro demon?

"Inu-Yasha!" Everyone looked over to see Kagome run up, concern on her face. She was obviously having the same brainwaves as everyone else, and Inu-Yasha's attitude was worrying her. At that time, Kirrara and Shippo decided it would be best to try to figure out Inu-Yasha's attitude in person. Sango and Miroku followed behind. 

"What's wrong, Inu-Yasha?" Miroku asked as they came up. Kirrara sniffed the air, then began growling, hackles raised. Shippo also looked disturbed by something the mortals couldn't see or smell. Inu-Yasha snarled, kicking the demon again. It stirred, showing that the rough angel's tactics had worked and now the pyro was awake. Inu-Yasha drew his sword and pointed the rusted Tetsusaiga at the demon's throat. With one simple flick of his wrist and a brilliant flash of light, before everyone's eyes Tetsusaiga transformed into it's mightier form. 

"Who do you work for?" Inu-Yasha snarled, pressing the sword tip against the demon's chest. "Who do you work for?" The demon made no move. "Answer me!"

"Inu-Yasha…" Kagome looked at her guardian. She could only remember one other time she had seen Inu-Yasha like this: when Miroku had mentioned it was Naraku who had killed him. Was it Naraku that was causing this reaction too?

"Well?" Inu-Yasha growled, digging the sword deeper. The demon laughed, not seeming to care that it stared death straight in the eye. It giggled insanely, staring coldly at Inu-Yasha. 

"Knew you would ask, he did." The demon laughed, pointing at the infuriated angel. "Knew you would smell him, knew you would react. He has a warning for you, Inu-Yasha: You cannot defeat The Master and he will prevail and take what is his! The Master it great, The Master knows all and sees all. Beware divided one! The Master cannot die!" With those words and a final insane cackle the demon drove itself onto the sword. It exploded, sending fire everywhere and burning everyone. Inu-Yasha didn't move even as a hot coal hit his cheek. He just stood there, stock still, staring at the place where the demon had once been, vengeance on his features. His mouth twisted as he answered the one question in everyone's minds, speaking as though the very word had a foul taste and he just wanted to spit it out as fast as possible.

"Naraku."

End Chapter 6

Roku! Number 6 is finished and done! Now all you need is a little preview push in the right direction to drive you all insane! *laughs maniacally* Ah, 'twas a mistake to open the Halloween candy early. Mistake indeed… (Yay, Halloween! Free candy! I'm gonna be Kuro-Neko-Sama from Trigun! I would have been Sango in her tejika outfit, but I couldn't finish it in time. Ah well, anime chara, anime chara. Nyaooooo)

PREVIEW OF CHAPTER 7: BALANCE

_The two of them glared daggers at each other, nearly at each other's throats, neither giving in. Then both of them turned around and faced their back to each other on opposite sides of the bed. Inu-Yasha snorted, not believing that he was forced to be stuck with such a stubborn wench like her._

_"Bitch."_

_Kagome's eyes narrowed. "Sit."_

_Sango, Kirrara, Miroku and Shippo came inside just at the right moment to see Inu-Yasha eating carpet. Kagome walked up, grabbed a bag and stormed off with Sango in tow to eat somewhere else without jerks._

_"I see Inu-Yasha's already had his meal." Miroku said, placing the burgers onto the table. Inu-Yasha sat up and turned his back to then, pouting._

_ "Shut up monk."_

As you can plainly read, Chapter 7's more of a fun chapter then the last two. I'm going to explain everything in this chapter. Everything without giving away too much that is. ^_^

~Ama


	7. Chapter 7: Balance

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! Shippo is now my favorite character! He's so cute! *dances around giddly* For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, it's episode 68. See it. 

Okay, Shippo's not my FAVORITE favorite character, that's still Sesshoumaru. *glomp!*  Dammit, I wanna go back in time! Who's with me?

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha. Just FAR too much sugar.

**Chapter 7: **

**Balance**

Shippo jumped up onto the window and poked his head through, sniffing warily. No demons here, that was good. He leaped inside then looked around, trying to find the receptionist desk.  Miroku had said they were the big desks on the first floor but to the tiny angel everything looked big.

Why did they have to make hotels so complicated? Shippo grumbled to himself as he ran down the hallway, guessing that maybe the desk was down here. He wrinkled his nose. And why did they have to smell so funny? He ran into the largest room yet, where a bunch of people were standing either in line or just around, and there were a lot of bags and humans in funny looking uniforms. With a cry of joy, Shippo decided this must be the lobby, where the desk was. He jumped onto one mortal's head (Mr. Takiwana since then became convinced he was going bald and has worn a hat ever since) and scanned the area. There, that big desk _must_ be it! He jumped down and ran over, weaving between legs until he reached the wooden leg of the desk. He jumped up onto the desk and ran over to the receptionist computer, which was being busily typed at. Shippo frowned. He needed a distraction, but where?

Then he saw it. A glass of water, half full, was sitting near the secretary, just begging to be shoved. Shippo giggled childishly and tiptoed over to it, even though he was invisible to mortal eyes. This was too good! He'd definitely be reprimanded by a few authorities for doing such a thing, but in all else he was going to blame both his youth and Miroku. After all, that mortal was the worst kind of influence anywhere. Look at his habits! And this guy was a priest? Shippo shook his head sadly, wondering where the mortal realm was coming to these days.

 He then turned his attention back to the water and, with an ounce of concentration and angelic powers, gave it a tiny push. The glass tipped, spilling all over the floor and distracting the secretary from her work for just a moment. 

Which was all Shippo needed. He quickly dove into the computer's hard drive and set to work finding the biggest room to 'reserve' for his friends. Being a young angel he was quite into electronics before he became a guardian and knew every form of computer inside and out. It was only a few seconds work for the kitsune to refigure some stats and voila! Room 528 is now reserved for the night.

Shippo jumped back out and landed on the desk with a spin. In a flash, while the receptionist was still busy, he snatched the key to the room and scampered off. He grinned mischievously all the way back outside. That may have been wrong, but man it was fun!

Miroku and the others were waiting outside to see if Shippo could have found a free room big enough for the group of them in the hotel. Kagome and Sango didn't really know why they had to choose the most expensive hotel in the area, but both figured Miroku was only slightly taking advantage of his invisibility and Shippo's knowledge with electronics. Just slightly.

"There he is!" Kagome pointed to the tiny, tailed angel scampering over to them. Shippo waved and jumped up, landing in Kagome's arms. He held up the key to the room and grinned proudly, signaling that now the room was reserved and would be undisturbed for the night. "Room 528 ready for service!" He proclaimed. 

"Room 528?" Miroku asked, scanning the top of the high hotel. "Then it must be near the roof." He turned back to his guardian and grinned. "You got a suite? Great job chibi." He ruffled Shippo's hair messily.

"A what?" Shippo and Inu-Yasha asked, after Shippo got Miroku's hand off. Kagome explained to them that a suite had more services and a bigger room and such. When she was done both angels looked still confused but tried to hide it. "Oh." Kagome rolled her eyes in exasperation. 

"Well, let's go check this room out." Sango said, climbing onto a transformed Kirrara's back. Miroku and Shippo jumped on after her but Kagome paused, noticing a slight lack of room, plus she still didn't trust Miroku and his wandering hands. Which was why Shippo was sitting in between Miroku and Sango now, but Kagome wouldn't have any protection. And there certainly wasn't any room for Inu-Yasha… 

"You coming?" Sango asked her friend but before Kagome could answer Inu-Yasha grabbed her, put her on his back piggy-back style and jumped up. Kagome screamed and dug into Inu-Yasha's shoulders as they flew up skywards. Inu-Yasha winced. 

"Look, if you're gonna keep panicking I'll stop doing this." He suggested. Kagome loosened her grip and did her best not to look down as her guardian hopped from windowsill to windowsill upwards. They reached the top just as Kirrara and the others did, and Kagome stepped down shakily, thankful for solid rooftop. Sango hid a smile as Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes and dived into the rooftop, Miroku and Shippo close behind. The girls decided to take a slower route, and just calmly floated down to where the guys were waiting.

"So which room is ours?" Inu-Yasha asked, looking around and wrinkling his nose. He never liked the smell of hotels. They smelled of a bunch of people smushed together with cleaner fluid to cover up the stench. Not like Kagome's house, which had always smelled of fresh air and bakery goods. Out of all the scents in the world, one of Inu-Yasha's favorites had to be Kagome's house.

"528 should be…" Miroku looked around. "That one." He pointed to a door on the left, which Inu-Yasha walked right through. The others followed behind.

"I'm so tired." Kagome sighed, collapsing onto the bed. There were two in the room, both queen-sized and covered with soft quilts. She stretched out, feeling the fabric with her fingers, then relaxed again. "I think I could sleep for a year and a day."

"Same here." Sango agreed, falling down beside her. "Except then we wouldn't be able to kill Naraku."

"Yeah, good point." Kagome said, closing her eyes. The bed was so soft and comfortable and she hadn't slept well at all in the past few weeks before she had died. She was so tired she thought maybe she could sleep for years. She would just rest for a second, just rest her eyes after all this excitement…

Kagome blinked and opened her eyes to the dim light, stretching out and sitting up, yawning. The room was much darker and looked empty too. She glanced out the window and saw that the sun was just beginning to set; a quick glance at the clock told her it was 7:00. She looked around again at the empty room, wondering where everyone was. 

"They went to get food." Kagome looked over to where she heard Inu-Yasha's voice and saw her guardian splashing water on his face in the bathroom. He looked up again into the mirror and grimaced, poking at the burn on his face with a claw. 

Kagome stood up and walked into the bathroom where just now she noticed the burns on Inu-Yasha's hands. She remembered that he had grabbed the pyro demon before and she had just never realized that maybe he would have bad burns as a result. As Inu-Yasha stuck his hands underneath the faucet again, Kagome sighed. He was such a barbarian.

Inu-Yasha looked over at his task as she sighed and sneered. "I suppose you can do better?" he asked, flexing his burned fingers and wincing. Kagome rolled her eyes and reached up to open the cabinet, only to have her hand go through. Inu-Yasha flicked a hand up and snapped open the door, shoving his hand back into the water in the sink. "Only angels can affect the physical realm." He stated at Kagome's confused look.

She decided not to question or argue and looked through the items in the medicinal cabinet, finding the healing cream, just as she expected. She took it out, left the door open, and grabbed Inu-Yasha' s arm and led him out of the bathroom. After a slight pause for Inu-Yasha to realize what was going on, the guardian angel protested. 

"Hey, what are you doing?" he said as Kagome sat him down on the bed. She plunked down beside him and opened the cream. "Give me your hand." She said, holding her hand out. 

"What?"

"Give me your hand."

"Why?"

Kagome sighed. "Because this stuff will work better on burns then water does. Now just trust me and give me your hand."

Warily, and just because Kagome looked ready to threaten with a 'sit', Inu-Yasha put his hand in hers. She squirted some cream onto it and began rubbing it around. "Does that feel better?" she asked. Inu-Yasha nodded, feeling stupid. Cream, why didn't he think of that?

After massaging the cream onto his right hand, Kagome reached over and took his left hand, applying the same treatment. Inu-Yasha could feel his face redden with embarrassment. It should be the angel doing the treatment, not the task! Then again, he was the stupid one who went and grabbed a pyro. Still, her hands felt nice and soft on his. It was almost comforting, and reminded him of his mother.

Then Kagome reached a hand up and pulled his face so that he was looking at her. Inu-Yasha froze and could feel his cheeks redden as he sat nose-to-nose with his task. Kagome seemed to freeze for a second too, both staring at each other for what seemed eternity. Oh Hells, it was the stupid restaurant all over again Inu-Yasha thought, almost too scared to blink. But the room was a lot more private then any old restaurant and he could smell her a lot closer too. He still couldn't decide if he hated or loved this girl's smell. It was wonderful and one of his favorites, but whenever she was close enough for him to smell it he felt like he was intoxicated or something. The same dizzying feeling was creeping over him now, especially since they were slow near to each other. All he had to do was lean forward a few inches and then…

A door slammed, snapping them both out of the trance that was holding them. Kagome blushed and squeezed some cream onto her fingers, doing Inu-Yasha's cheek burn as quickly as possibly. He was staring at the floor during the process, seemingly interested in his toes, but as she finished he looked back up at her and made her blush even more as she quickly slammed the cap on the cream, not looking at him. What just happened there? They both sat in silence for a moment, excluding the chirping of some bird outside, which Inu-Yasha wanted to kill after hearing it's song for the thirty-thousandth time. Kagome fiddled with the cap, trying to think of a good topic to fill the silence. Then she remembered what they had been discussing previously.  

"So why have you been avoiding me?" she asked, tightening the cap on the cream, not looking at him. Inu-Yasha blinked, startled, and desperately tried to find a reason. "Does it have to do with me being a Reborn, whatever that is? Or my powers?"

Inu-Yasha looked down at his feet, not knowing how to answer. Didn't they have this conversation before? Why couldn't she drop it? Why did girls have to be so persistent? Dammit!

"I'm not." He said stubbornly, sticking to his argument of before. 

"Yes you are!" Kagome argued. Why did boys have to be so stubborn?

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are!"

"Prove it!"

"You haven't talked to me all morning!"

"Because I didn't want to!"

"Because you're avoiding me!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not, you stubborn bitch!"

"Don't call me a bitch you jerk!"

The two of them glared daggers at each other, nearly at each other's throats, neither giving in. Then both of them turned around and faced their back to each other on opposite sides of the bed. Inu-Yasha snorted, not believing that he was forced to be stuck with such a stubborn wench like her.

"Bitch."

Kagome's eyes narrowed. "Sit."

Sango, Kirrara, Miroku and Shippo came inside just at the right moment to see Inu-Yasha eating carpet. Kagome walked up, grabbed a bag of food and stormed off with Sango in tow to eat somewhere else without jerks.

"I see Inu-Yasha's already had his meal." Miroku said, placing the food onto the table. Inu-Yasha sat up and turned his back to then, pouting. "Shut up monk."

"What did you do this time, Inu-Yasha?" Shippo asked. The dog-eared angel ignored him and snatched one of the bags of food. He opened it, pulled out a drumstick, sniffed it warily then took a bite. Miroku and Shippo sat down beside him and wordlessly pulled out their food, Miroku's a pizza and Shippo some ramen. The three guys at in silence. For about five minutes.

"What did you do?" Shippo said, prodding Inu-Yasha with some chopsticks. The larger angel ignored him, grabbing a cup of daikon miso soup and eating it wordlessly. Shippo kept up with the prodding, his childish curiosity nearly killing him. "C'mon, Sango's told us about all the other screw-ups? What did you do this time?" More silence, and Shippo tried playing twenty questions this time. "Did you call her names again?" Silence. "Did you get mad for no apparent reason and blame her for something she didn't do?" Silence. "Did you act like you're better then she is and messed something up?" Inu-Yasha's ears were twitching slightly, but the fox-angel didn't notice. "Did you actually see her naked this time?" He seemed resolved and nodded firmly, slamming a little fist into a tiny hand. "I know, you groped her!"

BAM! Shippo was now the angel eating carpet, with Inu-Yasha's fist grinding into his skull. "Kya-aa…" Shippo whimpered.

"If you know what's good for you, then you'll shut up! You're a stupid little fox who doesn't know anything!" Inu-Yasha said, punctuating each point with a hit to Shippo's head. After the older angel was satisfied that Shippo had been properly punished Inu-Yasha went back to his soup.

Shippo sat up and rubbed the many bumps on his head, grumbling to himself. "So you did grope her." This time Inu-Yasha was too slow and Shippo was safe behind Miroku, who really wished Shippo hadn't gotten him into this argument. Shippo stuck his tongue out at Inu-Yasha, making the situation far worse. Before the enraged angel could do anything that would probably get Kagome even further mad at him Miroku held up a hand to stop him. 

"Inu-Yasha, I think we should try to resolve this peacefully, not by killing my guardian." He said calmly, Shippo nodding while hiding behind Miroku all the while. Inu-Yasha glared at the little fox but listened to Miroku's argument. "I must admit, I also want to know what you did to make Kagome-sama so angry at you. You certainly have no charisma when it comes to women."

"Chari-what?" Inu-Yasha said, prodding a rather large radish bit in his soup. Miroku sighed. "Charisma is charm, allure, suavity. None of which you have." Inu-Yasha frowned, not really getting what Miroku was saying.

"Well who wants chari-whatta around women anyway?" He grumbled, picking up the radish with his chopsticks and shoving it into his mouth, chewing it slowly. He couldn't stand the bland taste of most of these vegetables, but his anatomy called for it. Gah, sometimes he hated what he was.

"Inu-Yasha," Miroku got the angel's attention and Inu-Yasha looked up at him curiously. "Is it possible?"

"Is what possible?" Inu-Yasha asked, swallowing the radish. Miroku was still looking at him curiously, and so was Shippo now. Inu-Yasha was beginning to get nervous. 

"Is it possible…" Miroku said a little more quietly and wide-eyed this time, "that you like men?"

SMACK! Inu-Yasha's foot made contact with Miroku's head as the angel definitely looked like he was constraining himself from killing the mortal full out. "What the hell kinda person are you?" Inu-Yasha asked with a growl, shoving Miroku's head further down. Shippo watched from under the bed, amazed at the temper and dexterity of the dog-eared boy. Finally, after a few more kicks, the demonic angel seem satisfied and went back to sitting down, although he didn't seem to have much of an appetite anymore.

"Do you mean to tell me then," Miroku said, straightening his clothing and picking up his meal again. "That you've been with Kagome-sama her entire life and never thought about her in that way?" 

Inu-Yasha choked and stared at the mortal, who was calmly eating his rice. Inu-Yasha felt his face reddening and quickly tried to cover it up before the other two noticed something. "Of course not!" he said, folding his arms and leaning against the wall, snorting. "Feh. She's a mortal and I'm an angel. It'd never work."

"Some angel." Miroku muttered and got Inu-Yasha's foot on his head again. Shippo decided it would be safer to stay under the bed. 

"What was that?" Inu-Yasha asked forcefully. 

"I mean to say you're not much of an angel." Miroku said, calmly pushing Inu-Yasha's foot off and looking the angel straight in the eye. 

"That hell you mean by that?" Inu-Yasha snorted.

Miroku flicked the angel right on the nose. "Your language for one. And you seem to act a lot different from the other angels."

"And you kinda smell like a demon too." Shippo added from under his safety of the bed. Inu-Yasha sighed and started at the ceiling in disbelief. "That's because I just KILLED ONE!" he said, giving the bed a good kick too. He picked up is food and stormed to the balcony. "I'm going to go eat in peace." He muttered, slamming the glass door shut and jumping up to the roof. Miroku and Shippo stared at the empty balcony for a moment then went back to eating, Shippo crawling out from under the bed. 

"What was all that racket?" Sango asked, poking her head through the door. She looked around the room and noticed it was missing an occupant. "And where's Inu-Yasha?"

"On the roof." Miroku said calmly, getting up and throwing the garbage out. He waved a hand at Sango, beckoning her inside. "And I believe it's safe for you to come in now." 

Sango looked at Miroku suspiciously but nodded. "Alright, Kagome-chan, Kirrara, we can go in now. Dog-boy's gone." She walked through the door, her guardian and Kagome behind her. Kagome sat down on the bed beside Shippo, who was still eating, and sighed. "He's so stubborn."

"What did he do this time?" Shippo asked, swallowing his noodles. Kagome frowned and her eyes narrowed. "He's been avoiding me all day and when I ask why he just starts acting like a complete and utter stubborn jerk." She sighed, "I can't stand him."

"Oh." Shippo said, biting into another chopstick full of noodles. "So he didn't grope you."

"_What_?" Sango and Kagome looked at the tiny angel in shock, who looked back at them in confusion. "Wha-what did you say Shippo?"

"Well girls usually get really mad at Miroku when he gropes them." Shippo explained out of simply angel-child innocence. "So I thought that's what Inu-Yasha did to make you mad at him."

Kagome shook her head and both she and Sango shot evil glares at Miroku, who felt now would be a good time to go to the roof and talk to Inu-Yasha. He did so, a little more quickly then usual. 

"Shippo," Kagome turned back to Miroku's angel after watching the mortal disappear faster then any magician could. "Would you know why Inu-Yasha's been avoiding me?"

"We think it has something to do with Naraku and her being a Reborn." Sango said. "What is a Reborn anyway?"

Shippo paled. He hated dilemmas and now he was being faced with one. On one hand he could tell the girls what a Reborn is and get in trouble with Inu-Yasha and Miroku. On the other hand he doesn't tell them what a Reborn is and gets in trouble with the girls. Either way, he got in trouble. Gah! He began hitting himself on the head. "Why me, why me, why me?!"

"Shippo, are you alright?" Kagome asked, startled by the angel's strange behavior. Shippo paused and looked up at Kagome, hoping maybe she would drop the subject. "Do you know what a Reborn is?"

Shippo sighed. "I can't lie." He said, playing with his tail. "So I suppose I'd better explain it." 

Kagome sat down beside him and Sango sat on the other side. Great, Shippo thought, now I'm cornered. He sat cross-legged and folded his arms, trying to look knowledgeable. He closed his eyes and thought for a second. "Where should I begin… where should I begin… I know!" he smacked his hands together and looked on either side at both girls, who were watching him curiously. Kirrara was sitting on Sango's lap and giving Shippo a warning look. Shippo gulped. There was only one way out of this.

"Well, I suppose I should start at the very beginning, and explain everything." He said. "There are three planes of existence: Heaven, Earth and Hell. Each existence has a certain number of key planes, or balances, that keep all three existences in check. It's like…" he tried to remember the example he had used for Miroku when his task had died. "Like dominoes on three different levels." He summoned a fox trick, displaying three thin boards stacked on top of each other, with dominoes holding each board up. "Each domino is a key balance, and should even one balance weaken or fail..." He flicked one domino over and it didn't take long for the entire structure to collapse. "That."

"Everything turns to chaos." Sango deciphered and Shippo nodded importantly, removing the illusion. 

"To make sure that doesn't happen each existence has Key Keepers to guard the balances." He explained. "Heaven as the fourteen Guardians, Earth has the thirteen Ghosts and Hell has the twelve Lords.  It's their duty to protect the keys so that all existences fall into disaster." Shippo beamed proudly. "My pa was one of the Guardians."

"Oh really?" Kagome asked and Shippo glowed. Miroku hadn't given a damn that Shippo was the offspring of one of the most powerful angels ever, but these girls actually seemed to care. Kagome ruffled Shippo's hair and if the kitsune smile got any bigger it would have split his face. 

"I'm gonna be a Guardian too, someday." Shippo said, summoning some foxfire. He played with it, bouncing it from hand to hand. Kagome and Sango watched him, until Sango asked the question both girls were thinking. "How does an angel become a Guardian?"

"By being a guardian angel first." Shippo said simply. "And after completing the seven tasks, they can become a Guardian."

Kagome gasped, remembering information she had learned before. "Does that mean that after me Inu-Yasha's gonna become a Guardian?" she asked. The image of 'angelic' Inu-Yasha popped into her head again, cheesy music and all, and she giggled. 

Shippo looked shocked too. "You mean dog-boy's on his seventh task?" He gaped. For someone who was pretty far ahead angel wise, especially for his age, Inu-Yasha was certainly rough. Then again, he had heard something about Inu-Yasha's past that might have a factor in that.

"I don't know about you, but I certainly don't feel safe if Inu-Yasha's the one who keeps chaos away from us. He'll kill us all in less then a week." Sango smirked. 

Shippo shook his head. "You have to be tested very thoroughly to become a Guardian. It's no laughing matter, especially with people like Naraku around."

"What's up with this Naraku guy anyway?" Kagome asked. Naraku this, Naraku that, ever since she had died she's been hearing stuff about Naraku. It was beginning to bother her.

Shippo's expression changed to serious. "Naraku is a demon from Hell who failed the test to become a Key Keeper, a Lord. Most demons die from such an ordeal, for I hear it's very difficult, but Naraku managed to survive. I'm not clear on the details, but it's well known that he's been trying to knock down at least one of the keys. That was hundreds of years ago and he was killed, but now it seems he has been reincarnated. He'll be trying to destroy the keys again, that's for sure. And since Earth's defenses are the weakest, he'll be going after the Ghosts." 

"So we have to stop him." Sango said, her expression serious as well. "Naraku will die."

Kagome nodded, then yawned. Even after the afternoon nap, she was still tired, plus now she had a full adventure set out for her. She concentrated on pajamas and her favorites, pink with tiny cats on them, replaced her clothes. "I wonder when Inu-Yasha and Miroku are coming back inside. They've certainly been gone long enough." She said sleepily. Sango nodded, changing into her own PJs and Shippo decided to go up to fetch his task and the psychotic guardian of Kagome. 

"You sure you didn't tell them anything?" Inu-Yasha growled for the twentieth time. Shippo nodded frantically. "I just kept explaining the Keys, and just the Keys, nothing else, until they both went to sleep!" he squeaked as Inu-Yasha dropped him. The larger angel sighed, then decided it might be safe to go in now. They were probably asleep anyway, he thought. With that thought he jumped down to the balcony and went through the glass door as quietly as possible.

Sure enough the girls were asleep in one of the beds as Inu-Yasha went over to check on his task Kirrara was curled up between them, guarding the two for her old friend. Inu-Yasha patted the feline on the head, and when Kirrara looked up at him with her large red eyes the dog-eared angel gave her a clawed thumbs up. Mental note to self, he thought. Don't get Kirrara mad in the dark. 

"Don't they look so sweet when they're sleeping?" Miroku asked as he crawled into bed. Inu-Yasha grabbed the monk by the collar and dragged him out, throwing him towards the empty bed. "That doesn't mean you can sleep with them." He growled protectively. Miroku took the hint and slept alone, except for Shippo. 

Inu-Yasha leaned against the wall near Kagome's bed, performing his slight meditation before taking a few short catnaps. As his ears flickered around to make sure there was nothing threatening, he thought about what had happened that day. Just this morning all he really had to do was protect Kagome and her friends. Now it looked like his seventh task would be a little more difficult, but that didn't matter. He would kill Naraku, if it was the last thing he did.

"Inu-Yasha…" The angel's ears perked and he looked over to where Kagome was sleeping. Talking in her sleep again, eh? She certainly did that a lot. She was also shivering slightly, causing Inu-Yasha to frown. She was having another nightmare and although it seemed to be a mild one, it could get worse. Kagome had been plagued with nightmares for nearly a month now, and she hadn't been getting any sleep because of it. 

Before she would wake up, Inu-Yasha reached over and pulled up the covers tighter around her in an attempt to warm her up. She stopped shivering, but Inu-Yasha could still sense something wrong with her. Cautiously, in case he might wake her, he gently stroked her hair. She seemed to relax after that, drifting off into dreamless sleep. Inu-Yasha smiled, just slightly, and sat against the wall, holding his sword Tetsusaiga just in case. He closed his eyes and soon drifted off into one of his catnaps, head drooping slightly, ears still flickering. 

Miroku smirked at what he just witnessed and prepared to go to sleep himself. There was still hope for Inu-Yasha's charisma after all.

End Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is now over! Only Kami-knows how many left to go!

If any of you haven't seen in Inu-Yasha movie, I feel great, great pity towards you. It's SO good! And sad! And Inu's blood is actually red! Nyaa… I wanna work as an animator for Inu-Yasha. Just you wait; I'll be working on anime yet! All I need is college and the right people! 

And I can't believe how much you guys all love my story! *sobs happily* I'm so happy! Here, have my sister's Halloween candy as a token of my gratitude! *throws it over* But no fighting. There's a pillow-case and a half there. It should be enough. Should. *notices sister in background and pales*

Well, I'm off, heh… Oh yeah, and I'm thinking of turning Guardian Angel into a doujinshi (fan manga) That'll be a task and half, and might slow down my writing. But candy always helps!

Well, ja ne! Until Wednesday!

~Ama~


	8. Chapter 8: Spirits

GAH! I'm sick, so I'm not going to babble so much. But over 100 reviews!! This is soooooo awesome! Sugoi! I love you all! *big hug*

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha and I don't want the flu either.

**Chapter 8: **

**Spirits**

"Ah, what a great night's sleep." Kagome said, yawning. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and looked around. It was still dark, for some reason. Confused she looked at the clock to see what the time was. 

"4:00 in the morning?" She gasped, then clamped a hand over her mouth to silence herself. She looked around to see if she had woken anybody up but everyone was still fast asleep. It must have been the nap that afternoon, that would probably explain why she wasn't feeling, well, dead tired.

She frowned, trying to remember her dream last night. It had been another nightmare, involving a rose colored glowing…. something and a shadow that felt like a demon. She couldn't remember details about it though, just… nothing. As slowly as she could remember it, it vanished just as quickly. 

Maybe some fresh air will help she thought, getting up. Stretching, she changed back into her clothes and she walked outside to the balcony. Tokyo was just starting to wake up as well, with a few cars already beginning their drive to work, the sunlight just peeking up over the horizon. She shivered slightly; she had never known the morning was this cold. She watched a few birds fly off in the distance, then swerve back to fly near the hotel. They were strange feeling birds, and she wondered if it was just the way animals felt or if maybe these birds were demons.

"Hey." Inu-Yasha's voice broke through her thoughts and she turned around to see her guardian behind her. He looked at her seriously, and a bit worried too. "You shouldn't just wander around like that. It's dangerous."

Kagome nodded, turning back to the city. The many windows of the buildings reflected the tiny sunrays that were just beginning to appear, giving the city a bathed look. Looking up, Kagome could see the quarter moon and the stars around it. Inu-Yasha stepped up beside her and wrinkled his nose.

"This place stinks." He said bluntly, causing Kagome to giggle. The angel looked over at his task, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "What?" he asked and Kagome smiled.

"You're just great at setting a mood, aren't you?" she said, leaning against the balcony railing. Inu-Yasha raised his other eyebrow in equal confusion. "What's a… a 'mood'?"

"It's a… never mind." Kagome sighed, shaking her head. Inu-Yasha blinked for a few seconds, then looked out over the city. "Mortals." He sighed. 

"What about us?" Kagome asked pertly, prodding her guardian in the side. Inu-Yasha flicked his ears, but otherwise didn't move.

"You're all crazy, that's what." He said. "Mood, charisma, where do you come up with that crap?"

"Charisma?" Kagome looked over at him and Inu-Yasha froze for a second. "I didn't say anything about charisma."

"I never said you did." Inu-Yasha said, focusing on a crack in the balcony railing. "I… it was… Well…" He decided it would be best to shut up and just focus on the crack with his claws and to just ignore the girl beside him. He always managed to screw up when she was around, damn it all to Hell. He decided if he acted like she wasn't there then maybe she'd go away. 

It was working just fine until Kagome, who obviously didn't know the plan, tried to get her guardian's attention. She stood there, watching him try to deepen a crack on the railing, trying to understand what was wrong with the centuries-old angel. And guys said girls where difficult! She watched him sit there, his giant red kimono fluttering in the wind (didn't that thing get heavy and tedious after a while?), his yellow eyes glinting in the morning sunrise, his ears flickering this way and that. 

It was the ears that drew Kagome's attention. Ever since she had fist met him, and noticed his strange anatomy, she had wondered about his pointed doggy-ears. And now… he wasn't paying attention, this was a perfect opportunity. She reached over.

Inu-Yasha was focusing completely on removing a tiny stone imbedded in the crack when he felt something rubbing against his ears. First they were tweaked a bit, then something began stroking them. He froze completely, wondering what the hell was going on. Then he remembered that Kagome was standing beside him, and he relaxed a little bit. 

Waitaminute. 

"The hell are you doing?!" he shouted, jumping back and flattening his ears to keep them completely out of reach. Kagome looked at him in shock for a moment, then began to giggle. Inu-Yasha just stared at her, wondering if maybe she had truly snapped. He cautiously, and slowly, inched towards her, hoping she didn't say the 's' word. She was still giggling as he waved his hand in front of her face. "Hello, Kagome?" 

"Good boy." Kagome reached over and patted him in the head, giving his ears another tweak. Inu-Yasha froze, claws twitching for a second. 

"THE HELL?!" he shouted, jumping up onto the railing, stunned, confused and rather unsure how to act. He put his hands on his head, snarling at Kagome. "Don't treat me like a dog, bitch!"

That ruined the mood completely. Inu-Yasha looked in fear as Kagome glared at him, the angel actually feeling a cold shiver go down his spine. He closed his eyes and prepared for the worst.

"Houshi-sama, did you hear that?" Sango said, looking over at the monk and his sleepy-eyed angel. Miroku nodded and they both turned as Kagome stormed into the hotel room, practically in flames. Almost as soon as she noticed that everyone else was awake she changed personalities and smiled. "Good morning everybody. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"Shippo, remind not to get Kagome-sama angry." Miroku whispered to his angel, who was now wide-awake. Shippo nodded dumbly. Even Sango and Kirrara had to agree that Kagome's sudden change was a bit unnerving. 

"Uh, Kagome-chan…" Sango said, although a little sure of the answer already. "Where's Inu-Yasha?"

"Downstairs." Kagome said sweetly, going to the door. "I suppose we should go get him."

"Down… stairs…" Shippo repeated, trying to not think about how his fellow angel got there. He shivered, reminded of his own rosary by the tiny beads clicking against each other. He gulped and jumped onto Miroku's shoulder, as his task and companions followed Kagome downstairs to where Inu-Yasha was waiting. 

Kagome whistled on the way down.

~

"… and that's why I think it would be best if we made our way to Kyoto." Miroku finished, taking another sip of his coffee. Shippo nodded sagely with his task, for this was something they had been planning for a while. Sango, Kirrara and Kagome all looked at each other, decided, while Inu-Yasha sulked with a bandage across his nose. 

They were sitting in a small café before it got too busy and people would sit in their seats while they were still 'occupied'. Going through people wasn't that bad of an experience, according to Sango and Miroku, but Kagome didn't want to experience it all the same. She glanced around again, making sure no one would sit on her, then turned back to her friends and nodded.

"Sure, sounds like a good idea. Plus," she added, grinning and Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes. "I've never been to Kyoto and I've heard they have great stores there for shopping!" She added a warning glance to her guardian and Inu-Yasha pretended to ignore her. 

"Uh… sure." Miroku and Shippo looked at her and Sango, who agreed whole-heartedly, and then looked at each other. They both shrugged, offering the explanation on one word. "Girls."

"Well it's true." Kagome argued. Of course, she would have to remember to keep her mind on the true reason why they were going to Kyoto, and it wasn't for a new wardrobe. 

Before Miroku and Shippo had met up with Kagome, Inu-Yasha and the rest of them they had been planning to go to Kyoto to find Naraku. The reason: As Shippo had explained before every existence had a certain number of Keys and Earth had thirteen. One of those thirteen was located in the Kyoto area, which was a logical place to find Naraku if his purpose was to destroy the Keys. Miroku and Shippo had been preparing for their journey when they saved Kagome, and the rest of the story is being written. 

"Well, what do you think Inu-Yasha?" Miroku asked the only other male of the group. The dog-eared angel sighed and flicked a piece of lint off of his kimono. 

"Well, if that's what you think then fine." He stood up, attaching Tetsusaiga back onto his hip. "C'mon Kagome, let's go."

"Go where?" Kagome asked as Inu-Yasha lifted her up by her arm. Inu-Yasha looked at her as if she was stupid or something. "Kyoto of course. Isn't that just what we were talking about?" he asked, putting her on his back. Kagome blinked for a moment, then shouted just as Inu-Yasha jumped up, causing her guardian to falter in mid-air and nearly crash into the ground in a style almost as effective as 'sit'. Just managing to catch his balance, the angel glared over his shoulder at his task, who looked just as irritated as he did. "What the hell was that?" he growled and Kagome matched him glare-for-glare.

"I want to take the train." She said curtly, climbing off of him. Inu-Yasha blinked at her for a moment, dumbfounded. "Why?" he asked. 

"Because it's a much nicer and quieter ride, and there's a lot more scenery." Kagome explained, as if talking to a child. She looked over at her fellow mortals and they both nodded. "If I had a choice I'd rather go by train then on Kirrara." Sango agreed. "No offense." Kirrara licked Sango's finger and purred, indicating she didn't mind. A train ride would be less work and more sleep for her anyway.

Inu-Yasha snorted and looked over at Miroku and Shippo. One look at their face told Inu-Yasha their minds were already made up; wherever the girls went, Miroku followed and Shippo didn't want to be stuck alone with a psychotic angel like Inu-Yasha. The older angel sighed. 

"Fine, we'll take the fuckin' train." He grumbled, going through the window. He waited impatiently as everyone else calmly, and far too slowly for his taste, walked out as well, stretching the morning sun and taking their time as if today was 'Bother Inu-Yasha as Much as Possible' day. He groaned. "This is going to be a long morning."

"What?" Kagome looked over at him and he chose to instead watch a bird fly by. Kagome sighed. "This is going to be a long morning."

Sango, who had heard them both, had to stifle a laugh. 

"We're here. You happy?" Inu-Yasha grumbled, letting Kagome down. Today certainly wasn't working out well for him. First Kagome says she wants to go to Kyoto, then when he tries to take her she says she wants to take the train, then when he agrees she wants him to take her to the train. This was not turning out a very good day indeed. Damn he hated Tuesdays.

"Very." Kagome responded, following everyone else, who rode on Kirrara, through the train station. Inu-Yasha grumbled followed, only to find he had to wait while Miroku found which train was heading to Kyoto. "I don't get how you stand it." He muttered to Kirrara, who just transformed and began cleaning her face. Inu-Yasha flickered an ear in annoyance. If he had to tell himself this was going to be a bad day one more time he'd have to kill himself.

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome shouted behind him, scaring the living beejebas out of him and shortening his life span by another hundred years. The angel glared down at her from his perch on one of the kiosks in the station area. "That wasn't funny." He growled.

"Sit!" Inu-Yasha fell face first into a puddle of water, splashing a few living passerbies and scaring the living beejebas out of them. The dog-eared guardian sat up, face wet, and glared at Kagome who giggled. "Well that certainly was." She said with an innocent smile before turning back to join her companions. 

Inu-Yasha stood up and shook his head dry. VERY bad day.

Grumbling he wrung a bit more water out of his long hair and followed after Kagome and her mortal friends who weren't giving _their_ angels problems. As the girls looked around and chose what train car they wanted to be in, both preferring the one with the least number of people, Miroku and Shippo joined the sulking Inu-Yasha. 

"Bad day?" Miroku asked, earning a death glare that could have frightened Naraku from the dog-angel. Miroku quickly changed the subject. "Well look on the bright side. We don't have to do anything for a whole five hours."

Inu-Yasha grunted a reply.

"We're ready!" Kagome called out, waving from the car she and Sango had chosen. Miroku waved cheerfully back and began walking, Shippo on his shoulder. "You coming Inu-Yasha?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Inu-Yasha sighed, following the mortal. 

The car Kagome had chosen didn't just have the least number of people; it had no people at all. Kinda of convenient, Inu-Yasha thought as he did his routine check for demons with a few sniffs I the air. There was a faint scent, either something really small or a demon that had been there and was long gone. Nothing to be worried about. Shrugging, the angel sat down on one of the soft, cushy seats, smirking with the irony. Mortals. Whenever they died they immediately wanted to live the high life; he had no idea what the rich and famous wanted, but it was probably opposite their lives. Humans were so predictable. 

Kagome sat down beside him and sank into the seat, sighing contentedly. "I've never ridden on a train before, much less first class." She said whimsically. "It's wonderful."

"Look, they have little serving trays and everything!" Sango said in front of her, while Kirrara pulled the serving tray out from the back of the seat before them, the mortal toying with the footrest as she too looked like she had entered heaven. "Now this is the afterlife." She sighed, closing her eyes. 

"Not bad, is it?" Miroku asked, sitting in the seat across from the older girl and her feline angel. Shippo was busy beating at the plushy seats, giggling with childish amusement as it bounced right back. "This is fun!" he squealed. 

Inu-Yasha couldn't believe he was stuck with this company for, how long did Miroku say it was? Five hours? Oh Hells. The train started moving and three or four living people entered and sat near the back. They looked like businessmen and barely five minutes into the ride they were either typing at their laptops or sleeping. Shippo eyed the sleeping man's laptop, but Miroku held him back. Even the lech knew when to draw the line.

Inu-Yasha glanced out the window, trying to drown out the sounds of the two teenage girls gossip (while Miroku pretended to understand what they were talking about just so he could be part of the conversation and maybe even get a seat beside Sango). He watched the landscape go by, trying to figure out what the hell was so great about it that Kagome wanted to spend five hours on this infernal contraption just looking at it (which she wasn't even doing, he added mentally with a growl), when he felt a prick on his neck, like a pin. Then came a very, VERY familiar sucking noise. Instinctively Inu-Yasha smacked a hand on the side of his neck, causing a slapping sound that at least got his companions to shut up and look at him.

Inu-Yasha pulled his hand away and found himself looking down at a flattened flea about the size of a ten-yen coin, dressed in a classical kimono. The flea righted itself and brushed the dust off of his outfit, then squinted up at Inu-Yasha. His features brightened as he smiled up at the angel, who's face was a mixture of surprise and confusion. "Inu-Yasha-sama! It is you!" he danced gleefully. 

Inu-Yasha's face changed completely from that as he looked more annoyed then anything else. "Feh. Of course it's me Old Man." He snorted while everyone else looked at the tiny flea in surprise. "Otherwise you'd be miles from here." The flea didn't take to well to the insult.

"Myouga-ji-san?" Shippo interrupted before an argument could erupt between dog and flea. Kagome wondered if every conversation with Inu-Yasha ended up in an argument. Then she decided they probably did. Shippo, meanwhile, had climbed to the top of Kirrara's seat, in front of Inu-Yasha, and was looking down at the flea in surprise. "What are you doing here?" he asked. 

"You're not running away from something again, are you?" Inu-Yasha asked skeptically, squeezing Myouga between two of his claws. " 'Cause if you are…"

"I'm not, I'm not, I came here to find Inu-Yasha-sama!" Myouga protested. "Shippo, help me on this one!"

"You two know this guy?" All three mortals said in unison before Shippo could say anything. Both angels nodded and Shippo spoke up first.

"Myouga-ji-san is a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, ve-" Shippo faltered as Myouga gave a tiny glare at him. "Old demon and he's also many times very wise in the ways of the three existences. He's taught my father and he's taught me and he's also so old that he was actually there when Naraku was killed the first time. And he was old when that happened. So he must be over a thousand." Shippo said, trying to induce awe in his audience. Myouga nodded importantly. 

"I'm also taught Inu-Yasha-sama." He said. 

"But you're a demon." Sango interrupted. "Why were angels taught by a demon?"

"Just because I'm a demon doesn't mean I'm bad." Myoga said, looking up at Sango with the knowledge of millennia. "I've taught demons, angels and even humans. Especially with your past you should know not to judge by spirit alone." Sango looked at him in confusion, and the tiny demon elaborated. "You may not know this, but I can smell it in your blood." In a flash he was on Sango neck, sucking at her blood. She smacked him and held out her hand, while everyone waited from Myouga to pop back again.

"Ahem." He cleared his through after he did so. "Can taste it too." He then adopted a more serious tone. "But in your past ancestry, you certainly have the blood of the takijin who slew Naraku. I'd say you were her reincarnation, if I'm not mistaken. You have the looks about you. And you," he turned to Miroku.

"I already know that, the knowledge has been in my family for years." Miroku said, and expertly caught the flea in midair. "Which means you don't have to taste my blood to figure it out."

"Impudence." Myouga muttered. "I'd definitely say you're descended from that monk. Probably as lecherous too." Both girls nodded and Sango gave Miroku a warning glare after realize he had been inching closer and closer. Miroku took the hint and backed away. Just a little.

"And you…" Myouga then turned his attention to Kagome, and immediately jumped back. "Twelve Hells!" he cried and jumped back onto Inu-Yasha's shoulder. "Inu-Yasha-sama! The rumors certainly are true! She's Kikyou's exact co-!" Anything further of Myouga was crushed as Inu-Yasha smushed the flea for the third time in ten minutes. Kagome looked annoyed with her guardian. 

"Who's Kikyou?" She asked, wondering if maybe she should have taken up studying her family tree when she was alive. Everyone else seemed to be related to the group that had killed Naraku. Maybe Kikyou was some many-times great-grandmother of hers. But Inu-Yasha and Myouga seemed to be avoiding the subject. 

"Shippo's father, Kirrara's mother and Inu-Yasha-sama's parents as well." Myouga was saying. "The entire group was a mix of human, angel and demon blood.  The demon blood was a little weak I admit, but all the same."

"Well, if you were the only demon there." Miroku reasoned, but Myouga shook his head.

"Not so." The demon said. "Inu-Yasha-sama's father was a hanyou: half-demon, half-human."

Everyone looked at Inu-Yasha as he squashed Myouga again, no expression on his face. That would explain why his energy felt off, Kagome thought. He had demon blood in him, human too. So did that mean…

"It's not such a big deal." Inu-Yasha said, looked at all of them emotionlessly. "My father was a hanyou and my mother was an angel. I just have three bloods in me, that's all. After they died I went to live with the angels because my angel blood was the strongest."

There was more silence following that. Kagome knew this bothered Inu-Yasha simply by his reaction. After a moment her suspicions were confirmed when Inu-Yasha wordlessly got up and jumped through the roof to sit on top of the train for some moment's peace. Everyone unanimously decided to give it to him. 

Inu-Yasha sighed. Stupid flea. Now everyone knew about his lineage and that damned demon almost let the cat out of the bag with Kagome. Was nothing meant to be simple in his life? Did he have a sign on his back that said "Hey, come over and bother me!" for all the world to see? He sighed again. Or maybe this was just a really, really bad day. 

He faced forward the let the wind hit him right on, holding his breath so the billions of smells wouldn't drive him crazy at this speed. Then he stiffened. He could feel it more then anything, his own demon blood responding to it's presence. He could also feel something more distinct, from his past, faint but there. He swore and drew Tetsusaiga, then froze. He couldn't fight in the car. There were people in there and Tetsusaiga affected both realms, mortal and spiritual. He swore again and sheathed his sword, preparing his claws for battle. He heard his task scream and, wasting no more time, jumped back into the train.

"Kagome!" he jumped in front of his task just as the demon attacked, shooting hundreds of tiny barbs into his flesh. He winced from the pain, but wasn't badly hurt thanks to his clothing. "Everyone get out of here!" he shouted to the rest of his group, prepared for battle. "We have to fight on the top of the train!"

The demon, who was in human form, laughed harshly at this. "Fine then, go on top." He said with a grin. "My brother's waiting for you up there." He grinned darkly, brandishing his double-bladed spear.

Shit, there's two of them. Inu-Yasha matched the demon glare-for-glare, waiting for the others to get on top while he guarded their backs. There was the chance the demon was bluffing in order to keep them down here. When no movement was heard behind him Inu-Yasha began to get impatient. 

"The hell are you waiting for? MOVE!" he snarled, and was satisfied with the rest of them quickly following his orders, Sango and Kirrara bringing up Kagome although she was protesting. If this demon was telling the truth there would at least be enough of them out there to deal with it. He smiled, brandishing his claws. "Let's dance." 

The demon smiled, getting in a ready stance. "Fine then. I'll lead." With that he dove at Inu-Yasha, who fended him off with his claws. Quickly Inu-Yasha glanced around him. The men hadn't noticed anything yet, but they certainly would. The sleeping one had woken up and was already looking around, slightly uneasy. Inu-Yasha grimaced; they would have to leave and fast.

"Keep your attention focused!" the demon advised, just barely missing Inu-Yasha's head with the double-blade of the spearhead, slicing the angel's cheek. Inu-Yasha jumped away, then with another quick glance around, jumped through the side of the train. 

Outside he dug his claws in, bracing against the wind as he climbed up the side. The demon's spear sliced through metal and just nearly hit him again. The demon then poked his head out, smirked at Inu-Yasha who was near the top, then jumped out to join him, stabbing his spear in to keep his place. Inu-Yasha scampered to the train top, only to be greeted with a not-so-friendly sight.

That stupid bastard wasn't lying, Inu-Yasha thought. Another humanoid demon, but shorter and uglier, was doing battle with Sango and Kirrara, Miroku and Shippo. Kagome stood to the side with a bow and arrow, trying to get a shot in the confusion. She seemed to notice Inu-Yasha because she looked over at him, and her eyes widened in shock. Before Inu-Yasha could move he felt the cool metal of the first demon's spear sliding through his chest. He gagged on some blood and bile as the demon twisted the spear and pulled it out. He stumbled forward but was having trouble focusing and with a laugh the demon tripped him up and put the spear to his throat. 

"What an honor it is for me to kill the fabled Inu-Yasha." He sneered. Inu-Yasha glared at him through blurred vision, trying desperately to focus and gather strength to protect himself but he couldn't do anything in this position. The demon smiled as he leaned on the staff, driving the spear harder into his throat but not breaking the skin yet. He seemed to be taking his time, half concentrating on the turmoil his brother was causing. Inu-Yasha could hear the battle and smell blood, most of it on his side. The first demon turned his attention to the angel as Inu-Yasha growled, and the demon looked at him coolly. "I'm gonna have fun with your women once you're dead."

Inu-Yasha clenched his claws around Tetsusaiga, ready for one desperate move to kill this bastard, even if it meant killing himself. The demon noticed and stepped onto Inu-Yasha's hand, shaking his head. "I don't think so, angel." He said. "It's time for you to die."

Inu-Yasha felt the pressure increase on his throat and watched spots dance before his eyes. The demon was taking his time, making Inu-Yasha die slowly, enjoying himself. And Inu-Yasha was helpless, unable to do anything, and if he didn't survive this the asshole was going to go after Kagome. This was turning out to be a very bad day. 

"Shit."

End Chapter 8

There's chapter 8!

And my brain is muddle-fuddle from illness and sleepiness. So no preview (sorry, you'll have to wait in suspense) But I will tell you one thing: The chapter is called Reborn. Guess what we finally find out!!!

Well, ja ne! Until Monday, and when I'm better!

~Ama~


	9. Chapter 9: Reborn

Disclaimer: Guardian Angel is owned by me. Nothing else is. 

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh! Hot chocolate, marshmallows, Rockets, warm fire, home alone with Gravitation and Ranma 1/2~! Oh, what a wonderful night! *sighs happily* And then it gets ruined by a horrible day of more sickness (but better fic) and having to stand outside in the rain for Remembrance day! Gah! It was awful and cold and rainy and I couldn't hear what anyone was saying anyway! GAH!

But back to business. Since I was disastrously ill on Wednesday (I'm okay, really) I didn't get done what I wanted to get done: my thank yous.

I mean after all, without you guys my story wouldn't be the success it is. Every single one of your reviews is important to me and my fragile ego. So now I'm going to get down and dirty and try to reply to any questions or comments you guys may have for me. Not all of them at once. You won't have time to read the story.  So I'm going to try to do eight a chapter, four before and four after.

So here goes!

**warriorGL:** Thanks for offering to help with the doujinshi! Unfortunately I don't have a scanner, or the know-how to make a website, but the scanner is coming in at Christmas and my friends are helping me with the webstuff (although I still don't get it) If you'd still like to help, I'd appreciate it! Again, thanks for the offer! If you'd like, email me with suggestions (email will be at bottom of chapter)

**Wizardess Gal:** Ditto with the doujinshi pages and problem with scanner, but I have something else that I actually draw on the computer that's for the doujinshi. It's just a simple little chibi picture but it's also kind of a gift for anyone who wants it. Just give me your emails and I'll send it to you! And as soon as I get a scanner and get the doujinshi pages up, I'll notify you!

**T'laran:** Yes, actually, the two demons are based after Hiten and Maten. When you're ill your creativity dies. 

**Kyoshi-neko:** Okay…

**Chapter 9: **

**Reborn**

"That's it three-blood, just die nice and slow now." The demon grinned maliciously as he slowly choked the life out of the angel at the wrong end of the spear. Inu-Yasha was losing consciousness, trying to get some air, feeling the harsh reality of the double-spear head pricking his throat. Spots were dancing before his eyes and the world was getting darker. He had no hope of reaching Tetsusaiga with the demon's foot grinding his hand into the roof of the train and the rest of his remaining strength was leaking out along with his blood in the hole in his chest. Dammit, he thought, closing his eyes and waiting for the end. This has to be one of the worst predicaments ever. He had failed his duty and would now pay for it with his life and Kagome's too. Everything he had strived for would vanish. 

Kagome, he thought, I'm sorry….

"Inu-Yasha!" He heard a scream and then a flash of rose-colored energy blasted above him, shining through his eyelids and bathing him with warm light. It was so comforting and relaxing, just like before. He felt the spear leave his throat, the foot get off his hand and it felt as though his strength was returning. The light was such a familiar feeling it was more that then anything that snapped him back to reality. He opened his eyes and sat up to see the first demon clutching an arrow in his throat. The arrow was still glowing slightly with a rose colored energy as it refused to yield to the swearing demon's grasp. 

Kikyou? Inu-Yasha thought for a second, his mind traveling back. He glanced behind him to see her. He almost cried out when he saw her standing behind him, her bowstring still quivering from firing the arrow. The rushing wind from the momentum of the train tugged at her long black hair and skirt and Inu-Yasha found himself breathing again. Kagome. Not Kikyou, Kagome. But that power… so soon?

He suddenly remembered and turned back to where the demon had pulled the arrow out, leaving an ugly mark on his neck and lower chin. To the angel's surprise the demon seemed to be studying his face in the reflection of the spear blade. He spat in disgust. 

"You ruined my face, bitch." He snarled, readying the staff to throw it at Kagome. The girl seemed to realize the consequences of her actions and she backed up, only to find there was nowhere else to run. The demon raised the spear when Inu-Yasha stood up.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" The angel smiled nastily, drawing his fabled sword. "Never leave a job unfinished!" with a growl he charged the demon, who parried the transformed sword with his spear. 

"I don't think I need to worry about you, little puppy." The demon said, and Inu-Yasha felt another stabbing pain in his chest. That's right, the hole. Not to be bested, the dog-eared angel simply smiled.

"You think a little thing like that would stop me?" he asked as sweetly as possible, applying more pressure to the sword. While the demon was concentrating on that the angel fought dirty. First Inu-Yasha delivered a crushing kick to one of the demon's knees, causing his opponent to falter, the he relieved the tension on Tetsusaiga and swung back to punch the demon in the face, planting him in the roof. Before the demon could get up Inu-Yasha sliced him neatly in half and used his sword like a baseball bat, knocking both halves of the train and lost from sight forever. He smiled and put Tetsusaiga back in it's scabbard. "Byebye."

"Inu-Yasha!" He turned around to see the rest of the group recovering from their wounds, the second demon nowhere in sight, although the half-angel had an idea after seeing Miroku fix the beads on his Air Rip. Kagome ran up to him, relief all over her face. "Inu-Yasha, I thought you were gonna die for a second!" she sobbed, getting him in a giant bear hug. 

"Eh…" Inu-Yasha looked pleadingly at his companions for help. Sango, Kirrara and Miroku just smiled while Shippo giggled. "Well I'm not dead. Why are you crying?"

Kagome stopped crying in an instant and let go of him. "Ooo…. You-You are such a jerk! Sit!" She yelled, slamming down her angel, which wouldn't really help his wounds much. Inu-Yasha groaned and decided not to get up after that extremely painful episode. He remembered his previous mistake about Kagome earlier. Definitely not Kikyou, he though, wincing. Definitely. 

"That really looked like it hurt." Shippo said as Miroku helped the dog-angel up.  Inu-Yasha glared at him.  "No, really?" he snarled, wiping disgustedly at the blood staining his gi. 

"It was just a comment." Shippo squeaked, hiding behind Kagome. The dead girl really looked like she wanted to plant another sit on her angel, but decided not to since that wound really did look painful.

"Well done, Inu-Yasha-sama!" a tiny voice said, and a few seconds and sucking noises later Inu-Yasha slapped his neck, heralding the arrival of Myouga the flea. 

"Myouga-ji-san?" Shippo asked, safe in his hideout on Kagome's shoulder. "Where did you run off to?"

"Where else?" Inu-Yasha grumbled, trying to ignore his old mentor. "He always runs away when there's danger. He did it in my grandfather's time, my father's time and every other time. He was probably born running."

"Now that's not true!" Myouga protested.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes!"

"Name on time you didn't run away."

"Uh…" Myouga paused as everyone looked at him. "Well there was one time when your father tied me to his collar."

"Doesn't count."

"Fine." The flea was starting to look nervous. "Well there was that time with my fia-"

"Your fiancé doesn't count either. And you were running from her too."

"Well…" Myouga started sweating as everyone looked at him expectantly. "What about when I… oh, look at the sun," He began inching off of Inu-Yasha's shoulder. "I must be leaving now…"

"Not on your life, Old Man." Inu-Yasha said, trapping the demon between his two claws. 

"Impertinence! Let me go at once!" Myouga cried.

"Make me."

"Ingrate! Child! Lunatic!"

"I'll kill you!"

"Inu-Yasha, SIT!"

WHAM! "Fuck it!"

"Don't use that language either! Sit! Sitsitsitsit!"

"Ouchouchouchouchouch!"

"My, Kagome-sama, that's rather cruel."

"Why thank you Miroku."

*sweatdrop*

Kagura watched the group of them from a safe distance away on her floating feather, keeping in time with the train. Naraku's insects, the Samiyoushi, were with her as well but she didn't need them to fully figure out what was going on and those fools hadn't even noticed her yet. The bugs were just probably here to make sure she didn't run away again. But she wasn't going to stay much longer anyway. She had seen what she came for. Naraku would be pleased.

Smiling to herself she broke off from the train and took her own path to the underworld to relay her news. Everything was going according to plan. It was all working out quite nicely, actually.

It was a good day.

"Inu-Yasha stop moving!" Kagome scolded her angel and then went back to applying the bandage around his middle. Inu-Yasha could help fidgeting; he had always just let his wounds heal naturally before and now his task was treating him like some human hospital patient. He didn't see why she had to fuss over him like this, considering it would heal over soon anyway. This was just a hassle. Not that they were really wasting any time, sitting back inside the stupid train. The angel sighed.

"Oh stop your moaning." Kagome snapped, giving the bandage a tug. She didn't even know why she was doing this. Try to help this jerk and all he did was fight the entire way through. She never wanted to repeat the horrible process of getting Inu-Yasha to do the simple task of taking off his shirt so that she could tend to his wounds. He really was a barbarian, not to mention rude, selfish, foulmouthed, arrogant, hotheaded and a JERK. He did have some good qualities, but in the three days she had known him these qualities have shown up very, very few times. 

"There, you're done." She said, giving his chest a pat and her angel winced. Her face immediately changed to one of concern. "I'm sorry, did that hurt?"

"No." Inu-Yasha muttered, getting dressed. Kagome frowned. 

"Fine then Mister Tough-Guy. Seeing how I'm not wanted I guess I'll just be leaving now then!" She turned around with a huff and went over to talk to Sango at the front of the train car. Inu-Yasha watched her go, confusion all over his face.

"Inu-Yasha, your charisma certainly needs some help." Miroku said, sitting beside him and snapping the angel out of his reverie. Inu-Yasha glared at him.

"Oh, and I suppose you're better with women?" he asked. Miroku rubbed the red handprint on his face, thinking. "Sango's a bit touchy, that's all."

"You're the 'touchy' one." The angel snapped back. Shippo rolled his eyes. This was going to be a very monotonous argument, and he was stuck right in the middle of it. Inu-Yasha noticed this action. "Oh, and I suppose you could do better, fox?" he asked, grabbing Shippo by the neck and shaking him. 

"Kyaa! Miroku!" Shippo wailed as Inu-Yasha shook him vigorously. Miroku tried, in vain, to stop him. 

"Now Inu-Yasha, calm down-"

"Shut up lecher."

"Kyaaaaaaaaa!"

"Inu-Yasha! Sit!"

WHAM!

Kagome glared right back at her angel as he took the hint and let Shippo go. The smaller angel quickly ran up behind Miroku and decided it would be best to stay there the entire ride. Kagome sighed and turned around, deciding she was going to ignore the rest of them until the trip was over. "I don't know what to do with him." She sighed. Sango smiled. 

"Well, you're only stuck with him for a year. It shouldn't be so bad." She said, petting Kirrara on the head. "And it could be worse. Miroku could be your angel." Both girls shuddered then burst into giggles.

"He groped you again, didn't he?" Kagome asked and Sango nodded. "How'd you guess?" the older girl asked. Kagome pointed to her cheek. "Sango, he had a tattoo." A pause and then more giggling. Kagome fiddled with a piece of string hanging from the back of the seat in front of her. "Boys. Can't live with 'em, can't ship 'em to Mars."

"How true." Sango agreed, then elbowed her friend, grinning wickedly. "Although you did seem pretty anxious to get Inu-Yasha's shirt off."

"What?!" Kagome's face turned red. "I just wanted to clean his wounds and fix him up, that's all. It's not like that!" she shoved her giggling friend. Sango smiled knowingly and nodded, tapping her nose. "Sure, sure." She said and Kagome shoved her again.

Kagome scowled, then grinned her own wicked grin. "Well what about you? You certainly seem to enjoy Miroku's company. A lot."

It was Sango's turn to blush now as she denied everything. "N-no way! He's a groping, lecherous… guy! He's just not as stupid as all the rest of them so he can actually carry a decent conversation, that's all. It's not like I like him or anything!" she shook her head quickly as Kagome smiled. "Really!" Sango protested. 

"Let's make a deal then." Kagome said. "I don't like Inu-Yasha anymore then you like Miroku. Deal?"

Sango hesitated, then looked Kagome in the eye and matched her smile. "Fine then. Deal." They clasped hands and shook them, both thinking 'Ha! She _does_ like him!'.

"So," Kagome said, sitting down. "What do you want to talk about now?"

"Wasn't the first conversation fun enough?" Both girls jumped at the sound of Shippo's voice. The chibi angel had wandered over and was now hanging off of the back of Sango's seat. Both girls looked at him, then at each other, then at him again. Then they grabbed him and pulled him into the seat, holding him tightly. 

"Shippo, how much of that conversation did you hear?" Kagome whispered. Shippo whimpered. 

"Not a lot, not a lot, I promise!" he said, trying to break free of their grasp. "I promise, I promise, I promise!"

"And the stuff you did hear?" Sango asked, looking at him sternly. Shippo gulped. "Why don't you just promise not to tell anyone what you heard, alright?" Shippo nodded. "That's a good boy."

"I won't tell anyone anything! Promise!" Shippo squeaked, jumping back onto the seat. "Promise, promise, promise!"

"He's so cute!" Kagome squealed, petting him on the head. Shippo grinned and jumped onto Kagome's lap to be stroked. Inu-Yasha watched the tiny angel's antics, growling to himself. He decided he wasn't going to be baited by that and he would just stare out the window instead. "Asshole." He muttered.

"Kyoto!" Kagome stretched out after the long train ride. Actually it didn't seem so long after that fight, but the fight itself certainly took a lot out of them. Thinking about it she glanced over at her guardian, who was keeping up appearances good enough, but would flinch every once in a while.  Since he was over 400 years old, she guessed he must have a lot of experiences with fighting demons, since that was his job. Or, she added mentally, he's just too proud to let himself be seen hurt.

That description fitted more accurately.

"So where are we going, Miroku?" Inu-Yasha asked, a bored look on his face. Miroku looked over at him in surprise. "Why me?" he asked. 

"Because you always seem to know which hotel is the biggest, best and most expensive, and Shippo's the one who gets us the room." Sango explained. 

Miroku and Shippo looked at each other. "We're getting a reputation." Miroku mused, while Shippo sighed with frustration. "It's all your doing." The angel muttered. Miroku ignored him. 

"Well then, I suppose Shippo and I should start a search then. There's no telling how long we may stay." Miroku said, fixing his outfit. "Sango, would you care to join us? Yours and Kirrara's help would be much appreciated."

Sango flushed and looked over at Kagom, who smiled and pretended not to notice what was going on. Sango looked down at Kirrara, who didn't mind at all. Plus it would be a good chance to get Kagome and Inu-Yasha alone, the feline angel added. Sango smiled slightly at that. She looked up at the awaiting Miroku and blushed again, just slightly. She nodded and Miroku smiled. 

"Well then, we'll be going now. Don't destroy any buildings until we get back, alright?" Miroku smiled as Kirrara transformed and he joined Sango, Shippo on his shoulder. Sango smacked the monk's hand away, shooting a warning glare at him. Miroku took the hint.

"Feh." Inu-Yasha watched them fly away, snorting with impatience. "They'd better not take long. This place stinks."

"Inu-Yasha, you think everything stinks!" Kagome sighed. 

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Not!"

"Name one thing!"

"Well…" Inu-Yasha paused and quickly looked away. "Well you don't smell bad…"

"Eh?" Kagome froze. She hadn't been expecting that. She stammered, feeling a blush taking over her cheeks. "Well I- uh… thank you."

"What are you thanking me for? I just said you don't stink." Inu-Yasha snorted, then froze, his doggy ears twitching. Kagome swallowed the retort she was about to make. "What is it?" she asked quietly when Inu-Yasha held up a hand to silence her. Quickly and silently he drew and transformed Tetsusaiga and began sniffing. Kagome stood there, not sure whether she should just stay where she was or get closer to her guardian. 

Inu-Yasha suddenly turned, growling, sword ready. Kagome backed, up, looking in the same direction he was. She could see the demon, a strange shadowy figure with glowing eyes. Once it realized that it was spotted it vanished into the crowd of people. 

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha turned to his task, who looked at him. "Stay here and don't move, unless your life depends on it. I'll be right back." With that he charged off into the crowd after the demon. 

Kagome stood there, half-frozen, half-obeying her task as a fierce wind kicked up around her. She held her skirt down and closed her eyes to the dust kicking up when she felt it behind her. Quickly she turned around but it was already too late. 

Cold red eyes stared into hers as the demon in front of her smiled with a delicately painted mouth. Kagome backed up but the demon raised her fan and held it menacingly in front of her, kicking up a powerful wind behind her prey. Kagome shrieked as the blast knocked her forward, and she was caught by the demon, who again smiled darkly at her. 

"Good the decoy worked. He left you alone, just like I thought the simpleton would." She looked at Kagome with interest. "So you are she?" she asked slowly, studying Kagome's face. "How homely. Kikyou was much more delicate. You may the spitting image, but darling some makeup will do you good. But still, if you are the Reborn."  With that, and a bored look, she took a feather out of her hair and it grew until it was the size of a small canoe. She hopped on, dragging Kagome on with her. "You're coming with me girl."

"Hey!" Kagome protested, but the feather was already in flight. She struggled against the demons grip, but to no avail. "Let me go you witch!"

"I'm not a witch I'm a demon." The demon hissed, silencing her captive. "My name is Kagura. Don't forget it." She smiled more pleasantly after that. "Now, all I need it simple co-operation." She said. "Ah, here's a good spot."

Kagura landed the feather in a small, forested area and got off, dumping Kagome beside her. The feather shrank back to its original size and Kagura stuck it back in her hair. She then turned to the dead girl. "Now... what did you say your name was?"

"I didn't and it's Higurashi Kagome." Kagome said, standing up. The demon smiled interestedly, but still looked bored. 

"Kagome. Even a homely name." She smirked, as Kagome fumed. "Now, I need something from you."

"Me?" Kagome asked. "What do I have that you want?"

"The Shikon no Tama." Kagura said, holding out her hand. Kagome looked at her in confusion. "What's that?" she asked innocently. Other then the stupid little glass balls her grandfather sold as charms, she had never hear of the Shikon no Tama.

Kagura looked irritated. "Come now, you don't expect me to believe that, do you?" she eyed Kagome, who took a few steps back. "You really don't know, do you? Fine then," she snapped open her fan and restraints made of nothing but air suddenly clamped onto Kagome's wrists, ankles and throat, tying her to the tree behind her. Kagura stood in front of her, still smiling. "Sit tight. I'm going to tell you a story, little girl.

"One time long, long ago, before even I existed, there was a jewel called the Shikon no Tama. It had the power to grant any demon, mortal or even angel unlimited power to do whatever they wanted. Naturally everyone wanted this jewel but there was only one suited to have it. My master Naraku." Kagome swallowed nervously, not even noticing the sarcasm in Kagura's voice as she spoke. 

"Naraku managed to take control of the jewel and created me and my siblings, as well as gain enough power to do what he always desired: complete and utter chaos to the three existences. However a ragtag group of idiots, including your pet's mother and father, managed to take the jewel from him. The jewel was given, for safekeeping, to an angel who had grown up with Inu-Yasha's mother and carried the same gift as her after she died." Kagura scowled, remembering this. "Naraku was killed and my sister Kanna and I, the only remaining of Naraku's offspring, were forced to be kept alive in wait for his return."

"I still don't see what this has to do with me." Kagome said, straining against her bonds. Kagura smiled and tapped her captive on the nose. 

"Of course you don't yet, you foolish little human. I'm not there yet. Now shush, I'm telling a story.

"Naraku did come back, approximately 200 years ago. Unfortunately he wasn't as strong as he was when he died, so he needed a little pick-me-up to get his powers going again. I'm sure you know what that little thing was, don't you?" Kagura didn't even give Kagome a chance to answer. "It was the Shikon no Tama. Of course, in order to get it he had to kill the one who held it. Which was Kikyou, of course.

"Now, Kikyou was one of the fourteen Guardians then, you do know what those are, don't you dear? Good. Well, as you can guess that caused a bit of a problem. Guardians are extremely powerful, and even a demon of Naraku's level would have trouble killing one. So Naraku made it easy on himself and, as always, got someone else to do the dirt work for him." Kagura smiled evilly. "He got your pet Inu-Yasha to do it."

Kagome gasped. Inu-Yasha would never kill anyone unless they were trying to hurt him, and if it was someone like Kikyou, a Guardian… he wouldn't! "You're lying!" she voiced her thoughts. "Inu-Yasha would never do that!"

"Well, not consciously." Kagome was _really_ starting to hate Kagura's smile. "He woke up from Naraku's spell shortly after he did the deed. But you don't even know the best part, do you dear?" Kagura studied Kagome's eyes and almost gleefully realized she didn't. "Oh you don't. Well, you learn a new thing every day. 

"You see, Naraku could have used anybody, but in order for the Shikon no Tama to be at it's best for Naraku's use it had to be tainted with hate. Which is why he used the three-blood. Who better then Kikyou's own lover to do the job and fill her with hate and betrayal when she died?" Kagura watched with satisfaction as Kagome's eyes widened. "Yes, they were just a little _more_ then friends, if you catch my drift. But the puppy proved to be a little more than we expected, and he was rather angry after he discovered what Naraku did. He fought with my master and managed to get the Shikon no Tama from his grasp. Naraku had it long enough to gain most of his powers, but not all of them. The jewel vanished into a chasm of space and time and we thought lost forever."

Kagura tapped Kagome on the nose again, smiling and showing her fangs. "And now that's where we come to you, dear. You see, you're a special case of human. You're a human born with an angel's soul: a Reborn. You're the Reborn of the Guardian Kikyou, keeper of the Shikon no Tama. Because of this, and the loss of the jewel, the Shikon has actually been Reborn with you. So my orders are to kill you and take the jewel." She raised the fan up to Kagome's neck, the edges gleaming dangerously. "I hope you don't take this personally dear. Orders are orders."

Kagome struggled against her restraints but they wouldn't budge. She watched fearfully as Kagura lifted the fan up, ready to bring it down to slice her neck open. She closed her eyes and waited for the killing blow. 

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha? She thought, opening her eyes again and straining to look up to where she heard her guardian's voice. Inu-Yasha jumped through the trees and tackled Kagura into the ground, demon and angel jumping away from each other. Kagura scowled at Inu-Yasha for foiling her plans.

"I'm sorry, finders-keepers." Kagura said. Inu-Yasha lifted Tetsusaiga, snarling. 

"I don't think so." He said, preparing to attack. Kagura looked as if she was about to counter when a strange insect flew by her. She froze, then relaxed and took the feather from her hair. "Sorry dears but I must be going now. However, I'll be back for the little Reborn. Until then, ja." In a gust of wind the feather rose upwards and Kagura was gone.

"Shit." Inu-Yasha growled softly, sheathing his sword and watching her leave. Then he turned his attention back to Kagome, as her bonds suddenly disappeared and she fell forward. Inu-Yasha quickly ran up and caught her. "Kagome! You alright?"

"Yes, I'm…" Kagome trailed off as she met Inu-Yasha's eyes. She suddenly found it hard to look at him. All this time she was the reincarnation, the Reborn, of her guardian's former lover and she had to find this out from a foe, not a friend. Was that why he avoided the subject? Because of how everything ended? She shook herself free of him and took a few steps back. 

"Kagome?" Inu-Yasha looked confused, not knowing what was going through her mind right now. "Did she hurt you?"

"No." Kagome shook her head, whispering quietly. "Why…" she could feel the tears blurring her vision. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Inu-Yasha asked, wondering what had gone on. Kagome backed up some more, not wanting to be near him. 

"Why didn't you tell me about the past? About the Shikon no Tama? About Kikyou? About…" it was suddenly hard to breath. "About you and Kikyou?"  

Inu-Yasha froze in his tracks. Is that what the bitch had told her? Everything about the past? "Ka-Kagome I-"

She didn't want to hear it. She didn't want to hear anything from him, to even look at him anymore. She couldn't bear it. Closing her eyes to stop the tears that threatened to flow, she turned around and ran blindly away, in any direction as long as it was far. Running as if she could run away from the pain. 

Inu-Yasha, not know how else to act, let her go.  He slumped against the tree, trying to piece together everything that happened. For a brief moment he almost went after his task, but decided against it and jumped up to sit in the tree, to collect his thoughts. He too needed some time alone. 

End Chapter 9

Nyaaaa! That chapter took a lot out of me! And they're getting progressively longer and longer too! What am I gonna do?!

Oh, what a good yet bad day it is. My compu is out of virtual memory, whatever that is, and now I can't watch my Gravitation! Wah! Optimism girl, optimism. I'm gonna get my memory, I'm gonna get my memory. Well, while I'm waiting for that to happen, here's some more of those comments and replies I'm to give to you all!

**Naru-Chan:** Thanks a lot! Actually I am considering going into animation for a career, and I'm really hoping that with my connections I could get into Japanese animation! Wouldn't that be cool. Unfortunately it's going to take a LOT of work to get into the top college of my choice (-Sheridin-) so I'm seeing if I can do it outside of school too. Which is why I'm working with fan stuff (I also want to be a writer), like this fic and doujinshi. Not only does it raise publicity but also there might be a chance I could get noticed!

**Fate:** Yes, kill Jaken indeed.

**Lonescout:** Thanks for the soup! Too bad my immune system doesn't feeling like working much these days…

**ArtemisMoon:** Ghosts do not use bathrooms. I hope.

Speaking of offers and free stuff I'm giving away, I'm also opening a new business: Ama's House of Bishes. It's like pocket-bishounens.com, only no tests and a certificate! Basically you tell me what Bishonen you want and I'll send you the certificate (I'll need emails if anyone's interested) It's stupid, simple and fun! And yes, I'm selling the guys off of Inu-Yasha.  Even Miroku.

Oh yeah, my email is {[**_ajtabbycat@hotmail.com_**]}

Well, until next time

Ja ne! (and, uh, solemn Remembrance day?)

~Ama~

(Shippo: "Well I figured the biggest, wealthiest house in town would have a youkai to exterminate by Miroku, so I came here")


	10. Chapter 10: Ago

*bows repeatedly* Thank you everyone for all your patience! After much deliberation I have completed the tenth chapter! I've wrote, read it, re-read it and edited it and now it's done and ready for your reading! Aren't you happy?

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha, but I sell him in the House of Bishes!

**Chapter 10: **

**Ago**

"Kagome-sama, are you alright?" Miroku asked. Sango tried to help up her friend but the girl wouldn't move. Kagome sat there in a tight ball arms around her legs, oblivious to her companions' attempts to snap her out of it. Sango looked worriedly at her.

"Kagome-chan, what happened? Where's Inu-Yasha?" at that question Kagome buried her face into her arms further, a small sob escaping from her. Sango looked shocked. Had something happened with Inu-Yasha? Was he seriously injured? Or worse, dead? She had never heard of what would happen if the guardian died while still protecting the mortal soul so she wouldn't know the repercussions. She looked over at Kirrara who shook her head. So Inu-Yasha was alive? Then what had happened while they were gone?

There was one that had a dim idea of what was going on, although it didn't make much sense. Had Inu-Yasha told her? _Everything?_ Shippo frowned. He may be a kid but everyone knew Inu-Yasha and Kikyou's story and from what he had seen of Inu-Yasha the half-angel wouldn't be so foolish as to just blurt out the story of his life especially something so… delicate. Shippo sighed. 

Miroku looked at his small guardian who seemed lost in thought. 

"Care to explain?" he asked. Shippo thought for a moment, then nodded. 

"I guess I can tell you Miroku. Just no blurting and don't tell anyone what you know or who told you, understand?"

Miroku raised an eyebrow. "Shippo, are you threatening me?"

"No…"

Miroku sighed and set Shippo on the ground. "Heel."

WHAM!

Shippo spat out some dirt and dragged himself up from the imprint in the ground, sitting with his back turned to his task. "Just for doing that I won't tell you." He said, flicking some dirt off of his rosary-from-hell.

"I can say the word as long as I want." Miroku said calmly, taking a seat. Shippo paled.

"Okay, okay I'll tell. But remember, keep it hush."

"Stupid! Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid stupid!" Inu-Yasha slammed the back of his head against the tree with every 'stupid', yelling at himself for being such a moron and a jerk. He winced and rubbed the back of his head. "ow…" Well, there you have it folks, he thought. Inu-Yasha, dumbest creature alive. Well, what did you expect from a half-angel, quarter-demon and quarter-human? He was just a worthless three-blooded idiot. He didn't deserve to be Kagome's guardian, especially now. Snarling he slammed his fist against the tree. IDIOT! How could he be so selfish? Kagome was right: he really was a jerk. 

He winced and massaged his hand, curling up and sinking deeper into depression. Great. Everything was just great. Now all he needed was some stupid cliché, like Kikyou coming back from the dead. He pouted, ears laid back. He was worthless, like everyone said. A worthless three-blood. He still couldn't tell if he hated his parents or not. After all, he barely knew them; they had died when he was really young. Naraku was the one that killed them – he sighed. In the end everything came down to that motherfucking asshole. Inu-Yasha picked at a piece of lint on his pants, moping. Maybe he really did have a sign on his back that said 'come and bother me'.

Or maybe he attracted trouble like moth to a flame, like Kaede-baba had always said. Apparently his father was always like that, which was no surprise. But still, why did everyone always have to compare him to his father? He wasn't his dad and he could do just as many great things. So he wasn't an unbelievable superhero that slew the evilest villain alive, but what a load of crap that was anyway. His dad obviously didn't do such a great job at killing Naraku, because now the asshole was back and the great and almighty Inu-Yasha the First wasn't here to save the day. Nope, only his mixed-breed son to fix up loose ends and still try to have a life. He sighed. Not that his life was really going anyplace great anyway. He fiddled with the hilt of the sword he inherited from his father and slowly, as he sank into depression, sank into his past, a past when angels and demons walked the earth as humans and the threat of Naraku was very, very real…

~ ~ ~

"Inu-Yasha, hold still!"

"No! Won't hold still, no like bath! Bath icky, Yasha stay like this!" 

"Oh great." The black-haired woman rolled her eyes and impatiently tapped her fingers against the wooden bath. "Come on Inu-Yasha, I'm not going to wait all day." She gave a meaningful glare at her son, who sat firmly on the ground in his filthy kimono.

"Dirt better." The white-haired child, no larger then Shippo, pouted, giving his own glare to the bathtub. "Yasha stay." He flicked a dog-like ear in annoyance.

"And stop calling yourself Yasha, that's not your name." The women said.

"S'what ya call Pop." The boy said, doodling meaningless scratches into the ground with a stick. 

The mother threw her hands up in the air. "That's because it's his name! It so I don't confuse the two of you! Kami! You're so stubborn!" The child continued doodling, ignoring her. The woman's eyes narrowed and she stood up, rolling up her sleeves. "Fine then, if that's how you want it."

Inu-Yasha paled and jumped up quickly. "No mama, no mama, no mama!" Before he could get out of reach his mother grabbed him, held up upside-down by one ankle and undressed him, all the while he was kicking and screaming. With one hand she flicked him into the bathtub with a splash and she threw his clothes into the hamper to be washed. Her son popped out of the tub, gasping for breath. He pouted, refusing to look at his mother. "Fine. While I'm here I'll wash." He muttered. His mother rolled his eyes and set about cleaning him.

"Where's dinner?" the door slammed open just as Inu-Yasha and his mother were finished re-dressing him, with almost as much hassle as it took to get his clothes off. Child and mother looked up to see what appeared to be a much larger, more aggressive version of the boy, with exception to three striped scars on one cheek, a scar over his other eye and a sword hooked to his belt. His yellow eyes also glinted much more dangerously then his son's; after all he had more demon blood. The female angel stood up and greeted her husband with a frown.

"In the garden if you're going to keep up this attitude." She scolded him, wagging a finger in his nose. "Seriously Yasha, what kind of example are you setting for your son?"

Yasha grinned, showing a pair of dangerous looking fangs, only they didn't frighten his wife at all. "A fuckin' good example, if I do say so myself."

He was rewarded with a frying pan to the head. "And don't use that language in front of our boy. You're lucky I even slept with you." She scolded him, threatening to the pan in his nose. Yasha was seriously getting a headache from trying to focus and he quickly sat in a chair. 

"Sorry Ka-chan." He said, scratching at the already wounded table with his claw, working at a rut he had started some other light-hearted argument before. "I'll try to watch my shitty langua - fuck! I mean…" he gulped as his wife glared at him dangerously.

WHAM!

"Sorry." Yasha mumbled, the frying pan dented on his head. The women sighed. "Now I have to go and fetch another frying pan. That's what, the sixth this month?"

"You're the one who keeps hitting me." Yasha grumbled, taking the pan off of his head and tossing it out the window. His wife eyed him warningly.

"Only because you deserve it. Now we're having venison for dinner, so be a dear and go fetch some onions from the garden. And take Inu-Yasha with you. Some time with his father will do him good. Just don't let him near the puddles."

"Hai!" Yasha grinned, grabbing his son and putting him on his shoulders. "Ready to go kick some demon ass little guy?"

"Ya! Ass-kicking!" Inu-Yasha cheered and, after a look at his wife, Yasha decided that was a good time to leave.

"Good onions, eh son?" Yasha said, flicking another vegetable to his young boy. Inu-Yasha caught it, stumbling under the attempt to balance the other three as well. The child didn't even risk a nod. Yasha grinned. "I know, I'm a slave driver. You'll thank me for this someday."

Inu-Yasha wasn't quite sure what balancing onions would reward him with later in life, but didn't voice these opinions to his father. Instead he made his way to the home, tottering at a snail's pace. Yasha side and took a few onions off his son's load. "Better?" he asked. His son ignored him.

"Inu-Yasha-sama! Kanake-sama!" Father and son looked up to see a group walking up to them, headed by a monk in purple robes carrying a staff. The elder Yasha picked up the rest of the onions off of his son and dropped them in a pile near the door, then turning around to face their visitors.

"Miryoku you came just in time for dinner." The hanyou smirked. "Or was that the point?"

The monk smiled and helped his wife off of her pet feline. "Perhaps. After all, we can smell Kanake-sama's cooking from far off and I would just love to taste her venison one more time. Isn't that right Shinju?" The brown-haired women beside him nodded. 

"C'mon Yasha, you know you miss us!" a small, red-haired child with a foxtail jumped onto the half-demon's head and was quickly pulled off. "Kinu, go away." The elder growled. The small angel stuck a tongue out and wiggled free from Yasha's grip.

A wooden spoon smacked itself onto Yasha's head and Kanake stood in the doorway, smiling at her guests and managing to scowl at her husband at the same time. "Yasha don't hurt Kinu. Inu-chan, that goes for you too." She gave a stern glance at her son, who was trying to see if the other child's tail was removable.  She beamed at her friends. "Come in, come in. There's enough stew for all, provided Yasha tightens his belt a bit. 

"He's getting plump anyway. You're too soft on him, Kanake-chan." Shinju smiled as her pet transformed into a much smaller version. "Come Kira-Kira."

Kanake led her guests through the door. "The meal's not much since I wasn't expecting you. Still, I suppose to you pits it doesn't matter." She picked up the young Inu-Yasha, who hadn't seemed to take the hint and had been chasing Kinu around with a stick.

Miryoku smiled. "Indeed Kanake-sama."

Ah, what a wonderful meal!" Miroku sat back, smiling broadly. Kanake beamed. "You like it that much?" She asked. 

"This is delicious, Kanake-chan." Shinju agreed. Kinu nodded in agreement, still eating. 

"It was okay." Yasha said, taking another bite of a piece of meat. "You've made better though." He was rewarded with his comments with a spoon to the head from his glaring wife. "What, I complemented you, didn't I?"

Miryoku sighed. "Yasha, you've been married to this woman for how long and you still have no idea how to treat her. Your charisma is hopeless."

"My char-whata?" Yasha snorted, rubbing the bump on his head. Miryoku sighed again. "Never mind."

"Inu-chan, stop bothering Kinu." Kanake scolded. Inu-Yasha paused his game of poking Kinu with the chopsticks to glance at his mother, then went back to poking. Kanake threw up her hands in exasperation and grabbed her son, seating him firmly on her lap and refusing to let the wriggling child get loose. He eventually gave up and pouted.

"So get to the point monk." Yasha said, placing his chopsticks down. Miryoku and Shinju looked at him in confusion. Yasha waved his hand, elaborating. "You obviously didn't come here just for a meal or else you would have brought your brats." He ignored Kanake's warning glare. "So why are you here, really?"

Miryoku immediately became serious. "It's Naraku."

The atmosphere at the table suddenly chilled. Even Inu-Yasha stopped bothering Kinu to look up. Although the child had never actually met the infamous Naraku he had heard the stories from his parents; from what he could tell Naraku was very bad.

Yasha growled deep in his chest. "I thought we got rid of that bastard."

Miryoku shook his head. "Not for good and even you knew that. Somehow the Shikon no Tama has managed to get in his grasp; he's recovered and for all we know is stronger. He's changed though; he's not the Naraku from the past. He's getting to the point and going straight for the Key in the south."

"Fuck." Yasha swore and this time Kanake didn't reprimand him. Instead she looked at Shinju and Miryoku. "How much time?" she asked. 

"A week, two tops." Shinju answered, stroking Kira-Kira's head. Kanake nodded and stood up. 

"Then we don't have a moment to lose." She said and quickly cleared the table with her otherworldly powers. For ages she had been trying to hide the fact she was an angel and just live life like an average human. Now however was the time for action, not nostalgia. She grabbed her bow and arrows and changed into her average angel garb, which resembled female warrior outfits of that time quite greatly. She turned to her husband. "The sooner we leave the sooner we can kill that bastard."

Yasha nodded and stood up and Miryoku and Shinju stood up as well, their weapons ad already been close at hand. Kanake picked up Kinu and placed him on the table beside her son. 

"Kinu, stay here please." She said quietly. A cross look covered Kinu's face and he pouted. "But I've been with you guys from the beginning! I should go too! You might need me!" He whined and Kanake rubbed his head. "I need you here more." She said. 

"Yeah," Yasha agreed. "This fight's not for a kid like you. If you want to prove yourself a man, guard my son until we get back. Trust me, he's just as much trouble as Naraku."

Kinu still pouted and cast a wary glance at Inu-Yasha but the younger child wasn't paying any attention to him. "Pop, I wanna come 'n beat Naraku uppa too!" He whined, running over to his father. Yasha smiled and patted his son on the head. 

"We'll try to leave a piece of him for you, 'k boy?" he said, giving his son's doggy ears a reassuring pat. "Kinu, I'm counting on you." He added to the fox-child. Kinu nodded fearfully. 

"Inu-chan, be a good boy for Kinu and Ka-chan, okay?" Kanake said, fixing up Inu-Yasha's gi and patting him on the head as well. "Ka-chan and Tou-san will be right back." She kissed him on the forehead and joined her husband and companions and within a few moments they disappeared into the woods surrounding the house. Inu-Yasha and Kinu watched the still forest a few moments after they left until the irrepressible Inu-Yasha turned to Kinu and grinned. 

"Come back here, ruffian!" Kinu shouted at the top of his lungs, chasing after the boy he was supposedly watching. Inu-Yasha grinned and kept running, the angel's toy clutched in his tiny fists. Growling, Kinu pulled out a leave and transformed into a version of Inu-Yasha's mother, plus a tail. 

"Inu-Yasha!" The Kinu-Kanake shouted in a rather convincing voice. The renegade child froze in his tracks and looked fearfully over at his 'mother'. Kinu-Kanake looked at him sternly. "Give me Kinu's toy, now."

"Fine." Inu-Yasha grumbled, handing it over. "It's just a stupid kids toy and Kinu's a baby for having it in the first place."

"I'm not a baby! And you're younger then me!" Inu-Yasha grinned and Kinu paled. "Oops."

Inu-Yasha tackled Kinu, causing him to change back, and both children proceeded into a merry fight with each other, neither of them noticing the old human woman walking up through the woods. Finally Kinu accidentally kicked the younger boy in the head. Inu-Yasha sat down and began bawling. Kinu was, at best, at loss for words. 

"Listen Inu-Yasha, I'm sorry. Hey, c'mon, kids don't cry. How old are you anyway?" Kinu said, in an attempt to cheer him up.

"Five!" Inu-Yasha bawled. Kinu blinked. "Look, can you shut up kid? Please?" He suddenly noticed the old woman standing over them. "Oh, Kaede-bachan! What are you doing here?" Inu-Yasha stopped crying.

"Bachan!" He jumped up gleefully. "What did you bring me this time?" He asked, eyes greedily on the bundle she was carrying. Kaede often came to visit his parents and she would always give him gifts and trinkets from the village. Kaede set the bundle down and sat down beside it. Kinu looked worried. 

"It's not a gift so much as an inheritance." The old woman said, opening the bag. To Inu-Yasha and Kinu's surprise she pulled out Inu-Yasha's father's sword, the majestic Tetsusaiga. She handed it to Inu-Yasha, who took it but couldn't lift it and looked at her in confusion. 

"But Pop says I can't have Tetsusaiga until I'm bigger than it." He said. "Won't he be mad?"

"Kaede-bachan, what happened with Naraku?" Kinu asked, worried. What did she mean by inheritance?

Kaede shook her head slowly. "This should be a time of rejoicing, for the demon Naraku is dead and the world is safe again. Unfortunately it was won at a great cost. Shinju and Miryoku have survived and are healing in a near-by village with their children. However, Kanake-sama and Inu-Yasha-sama both died of their wounds shortly after." She looked at the young Inu-Yasha, who was still far too young to understand this. "Your mother's request was that you live with her old mentor and her friend, the angel Kikyou."

Inu-Yasha clutched Tetsusaiga tightly, real tears running down his cheeks this time.  "K-Ka-chan… Tou-san…"

"Kaze no Kizu!" the giant air blast exploded onto the target, splitting it a hairline from the middle. The giant sword transformed back to its original state, a rusted katana, and the bearer returned it to his scabbard. The half-angel scowled as he went forward to inspect his work. He snorted. "Feh, a bit off. I'm losing it already." He kicked the target, knocking it over. "Bastard."

"You shouldn't use that language here. I suppose you can't help it, with your lineage and all, but you've been living with us long enough to know that, don't you?" He looked up to see a female angel standing to the side underneath a tree, smirking. He responded with a rude gesture, causing her to frown. "Everything just goes in one pointed ear and out the other, doesn't it threeblood?"

"No one asked you!" He shouted back and stormed off. The other angel slowly followed behind, just enough steps to annoy him. After all, this was nearly routine. He finally turned around and snarled at her, causing her to smile. "I know you're bluffing." She said sweetly.

"Go to hell." He shot back and stormed off to his house. She followed behind and closed the door gently after he nearly knocked it off of the hinges slamming it. She then sat down beside him, where he was pouting off and staring into nowhere. 

"Do we have to do this crap every day?" He growled. "Why can't you just leave me alone like everyone else does?"

The other angel smiled and patted his knee. "Because unlike everyone else I've lived with you for the past 200 years and I know that underneath everything you're a really sweetie." She was rewarded with a snort. "Look Inu-Yasha, can't you just act like a decent angel one day in your life?"

"No." Inu-Yasha smirked. " 'cause I'm a horrible actor."

She glared at him then smiled. "You're impossible. No wonder Tenchiki-sensei made you sleep outside like a dog."

"I'm not a dog."

"Sure you're not." She stood up, rubbing his pointed ears. "I just think you're jealous."

Another snort. "Of what?"

"Me, Kinu, everyone else who's actually doing something with their life."

"One, I happen to like my life as an exterminator. Two, why the hell would I be jealous of that brat? And three, why would I be jealous of Kinu either?" Inu-Yasha said, twirling Tetsusaiga on two fingers. His companion simply began tidying up the kitchen for dinner, the insult not lost on her.

"Well my fuzzy-eared friend I'd like to counter your point. One, you can't be an exterminator all your life and it's not the best way to live, no matter how much of any blood you have. It's just frowned upon. You're like an angelic mafia." Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes. Her and her mafias. "Two, I'm older than you, so that doesn't make me a brat. And three, Kinu's already on his seventh task and will become a Guardian's apprentice soon, which is a great honor for doing it so quickly."

"And an insult." The half-angel countered. "It took you what, since I moved in here to get that? And he's only been trying for the past 82?"

"No." She said serenely, chopping up some vegetables. "I only became a guardian angel shortly after you came because Tenchiki-sensei thought it suited me. Becoming a Guardian is hard work, and Kinu is a prodigy. Even Tenchiki-sensei thought so. You could just feel it from him."

"And I'm a good-for-nothing halfling." Inu-Yasha muttered. The other angel sighed, put the vegetables into the boiling water and went to sit down beside him again. "You're not worthless," She said. "You're useless. There's a difference."

He did not look amused. "Thank you for clearing that up. It's been bothering me for _ages_. How do you do it?" The look on his face was just so amusing that she burst out laughing. Inu-Yasha sighed. "Kikyou, I just don't know what I'm going to do with you."

"Feeling's mutual." She replied, resting her head on his shoulder. He sat there stiffly but soon relaxed and even put his arm around her. Ever since his childhood he had been a loner among the angels, except for her. For some reason he had always felt comfortable around her and had never known why. He sighed and leaned closer to her to whisper. 

"You're stuff is burning."

Burning. Everything was burning. The heat scarred Inu-Yasha's face, causing him to painfully open his eyes. Where was he? He looked around but he couldn't see much through the flames.  What was going on? He couldn't remember anything and there was a horrible ringing in his skull. Slowly and painful he stood up, trying to get his bearings. First, though, he would have to leave the fire. 

He jumped up and over the first wall of flames, recognizing a wall. He was stunned and almost crashed when he landed. Quickly he began running, recognizing a door here, a painting there, a tree, a fence, a lamp… Kami. 

"Oh shit." He swore, jumping to the very top of the highest tree in his village. For that was where he was. The tree, protected by magic even older then the angels, stood firm against the flames but the village did not. Inu-Yasha watched in horror as the only home he could remember went down in flames. 

He clenched his fists in anger. Whoever the hell had done this would pay dearly. Very dearly. He stood up and looked around, almost frantically, listening above the roar and trying to concentrate over the heat. Where was everybody? Where was Kikyou? Had something happened, was she okay? Why couldn't he remember?

"Kikyou!" He shouted, waiting fearfully for the reply and hearing none. "Kikyou! Where are you?" He looked around, scouring everything in sight, trying to find any sign of life amidst the flames. Then he sensed it, a tiny spark of feeling. Quickly, almost flying, he leaped from the tree and hit the ground running, racing through the heat and smoke to where he suspected he was to go. He raced out of the burning village to a small hill where many of the other angels were gathered. Some of them watched as the village went down in flames; most were crowded around someone who seemed to be wounded. They all looked up as Inu-Yasha raced up.

"Where is she?" he asked a nearby villager. "Where's Kikyou?" Before even waiting for an answer he turned around and went up to the crowd of people, who parted to let him by. He didn't even noticed as he went up to the Guardian that they were tending too. He noticed with shock the blood staining the front of her outfit, the tearing gash in her clothing and flesh. And the necklace, the jewel that had once belonged to his mother was gone from her neck. Someone had stolen the Shikon no Tama.

"Kikyou." He crouched down beside her and put a hand on her forehead. "Kikyou, are you alright?"

"I-Inu-…" She groaned, then opened her eyes. She looked at him unseeing for a moment. "Inu-Yasha…"

"Shhh, I'm here." He tried to silence her but she angrily pushed his hand away and drew a dagger from her sash. Before the half-angel could react she plunged the weapon into his chest. He could only sit there and stare at her in shock and confusion before fully registering the pain.

"You asshole!" She shouted, pulling out the dagger and preparing to stab him again. "After all we do for you!" He caught her wrist before she struck him again. "Kikyou, what are you doing?" he asked. She struggled to get out of his grasp, causing her own wound to bleed more. 

"You stole the Shikon no Tama, that's what." She hissed at him angrily. "After everything we did for you, after we raised you and took care of you and taught you everything we know. All you ever did was lie to us, pretend to be one of us. You're nothing but a halfling. You made me think you loved me so that you could weaken me! Well guess what, now I hate you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" 

"I…" Inu-Yasha stared at her blankly. Stole the Shikon no Tama? What was she talking about? Suddenly he froze. There was only one smell on her, and one smell on him. His claws and her blood. He had done this. He had struck her. But how? It wasn't possible. Last thing he did was fighting that scorpion demon. He would never-

"Go to hell." Kikyou spat are him and stabbed him again as he wasn't paying attention. Inu-Yasha clutched the dagger that went straight through his heart, the pain nearly blinding him. But he could still see enough, see and watch as Kikyou died, still driving the knife into his chest. He couldn't tell which pain hurt his heart more. 

"I didn't do it…" He struggled to get out, disbelieving the fact that Kikyou couldn't hear him. "I didn't do it, I didn't do it…."

~ ~ ~

"Inu-Yasha?"

"Eh?" Inu-Yasha looked up from his reminiscing, finding himself looking at Miryoku and Kinu. "Gah!" He jumped back, startled, thinking maybe by some stupid fluke he had suddenly died and was with his parent's friends. Then he realized it was only their descendants, and this was 400 years after he had last seen them. "Oh, it's you guys."

"What do you mean, it's only us?" Shippo asked. Inu-Yasha ignored him and jumped down from the tree, dusting himself off. He looked at mortal and angel. "Why are you here?"

"That's not a very warm welcome." Miroku sighed. "But we're here to pick you up. Kagome-sama, Sango-chan and Kirrara-sama are waiting in the hotel near the city."

At the mention of Kagome's name Inu-Yasha's face immediately fell. Miroku looked at him curiously. "Is something wrong?" Inu-Yasha ignored him. Miroku smiled. "Ah, I get it. Inu-Yasha is feeling bad because he kept some secrets from Kagome-sama. You should really learn to tell the woman you love everything about yourself. Especially since Kagome-sama doesn't seem to be the kind to go after the mysterious-past types."

"The one I – " Inu-Yasha blinked. "What the hell are you talking about, monk?" He snapped. Miroku smiled. 

"Nevermind. Come, we must be going." He started walking and left Inu-Yasha there to stare at him, confused and angry and angry because he was confused. After Miroku had walked some distance and showed now signs of stopping the half-angel sighed and began following. He had had enough time to think anyway; too much of it hurt his brain. Besides, when he was alive his father had always told him to never dwell on the past, because it only hurt the present. Inu-Yasha sighed inwardly. Yeah Pop but what if my past and present are the same, he wondered. Miroku looked back. 

"Is something wrong? You're sighing like a love-sick girl."

SMACK! Inu-Yasha glared at Miroku, clenching his fist as Miroku rubbed his skull. "Stop using that fucking word!"

"Yes Inu-Yasha." Miroku said, unable to hide a smile. Luckily for him the angel was sulking and didn't see. Miroku and Shippo had already made a deal, and the monk could tell this was going to be an interesting night indeed.

End Chapter 10

And that's the end of Chapter 10! Onwards to more struggling, swearing and the completion of Chapter 11! Hopefully I'll have it completed over the weekend. 

And I also have a very, very important announcement about this story that I'd like to make. Actually two. 

One: Due to the problems we had with chapter 10, I don't want this to happen again. So I'm going to take next week off. Also, this Wednesday is my B-day and I have six tests that week. It's a lot of hassle, not to mention I'm working on the cover and first page of the doujinshi. So I'm taking a week off, but we'll be back on the 25!

Two: After a lot of brainstorming, calculating and wasting time in English classes, I've decided that this story will be split into three books, each book containing around 13 chapters each. For those of you who don't know, most major fantasy novels are split into parts, which are called books. Why they're not called parts, I don't know. But anyway, I'm going crazy because I can't think of a good title for the first book. So I decided to hold a contest. Whoever comes up with the best name wins a chance to be in Chapter 12, which will appear the 27th. Good luck!

Ja ne,

~Ama~


	11. Chapter 11: Preparation

Hey everyone! I'm back! *joyous celebration and exploding balls filled with streamers and confetti* Hurray!

So everything's up and running again, I'm now legal to kill people with cars and I'm back on track with the story. Yay!

Random notes and thanks to my reviewers:

Sailorruss: Cool saying! It might actually be a nice title for the book, if I may ask if I can use it or not.

Aelienwen Elentari: Thanks for the birthday wish, and thanks for your suggestions too!

Wizardess Gal: You have a lot of time on your hands, don't you?

Trunks Gal: Yes. Kikyou bitch.

 So now, what I've been unfair and keeping from you, everybody, here's chapter 11!

Disclaimer: Do I _look_ like Rumiko Takahashi to you?

**Chapter 11: **

**Preparation**

The dank and gloomy silence of the ancient castle was interrupted few times by noise of the outside world. It's lone occupant sat quietly in his room, deep in thought. He was alone and was not expecting visitors; indeed, he predicted no intrusions for at least another hour or two. So he sat and meditated, pleased at how this was turning out nicely. He had been watching and knew Kagura had failed. Now she'd be taking her time coming back, thinking up excuses, forgetting that The Master sees all, hears all, knows all. He was already compensating for her blunder, it actually working towards his favor. He was still keeping an eye on the objects of his interest, particularly one. He already knew exactly what to do. Now he would just sit and wait for Kagura to return and report her failure, or whatever lie or excuse she threw in it's place. He knew she would return eventually. After all, he always had the failsafe. He was always prepared. 

Kagura fidgeted nervously with her fan, wondering whether or not she should return. Naraku was going to be plain pissed about her failure to bring the Reborn back and she'd probably get punished. She could go back and try to lie about it, maybe get that mixed-breed in trouble instead, and she might get off easy. But knowing Naraku he probably already knew about her failure and was just waiting for her to get back so he could punish her. It was a lose-lose situation.

She sighed and tried to relax by torturing a small demon beetle that shared the tree branch with her. She hated demon trees; they were always gnarly, knobby and uncomfortable. She'd have preferred to stay on the mortal existence but Naraku's insect Samiyoshi abounded there. Here she had a lot more privacy. 

She watched the beetle scamper away from her fan until she snapped it in front of it. When it turned around she snapped it in front again. She continued this until the beetle was running in frantic circles back and forth, back and forth, unable to go in either direction without running into the other demon's fan.

I'm a lot like this beetle, Kagura thought grimly. I can't go forward and I can't go back. I'm stuck running in whatever direction 'The Master' says I can go. If not… bored of the game she flicked her wrist and the blade of wind sliced the beetle neatly in half, the two halves falling to the ground. She flicked her fan open and closed again, trying to think of a good excuse for coming back alone. 

She was taking a chance just sitting here, not only with making Naraku impatient, but also because of where she was at the moment. With exception to his trump card, Naraku couldn't do a thing to her right now, including spy, due to the territory she was in. She was lucky she was even in this land because, whether by chance or unconscious choice, she was sitting on the grounds of the Fourth Lord, the Great Demon of the East. Of all the Lords he was probably the calmest and least territorial but he still would just give her a rough push out the door, figuratively speaking of course. If she was found it was her neck on the line. Not to mention the strange rumors she had been hearing about him of late, who knew what he would do to her. 

She stood up and plucked the feather from her neatly done-up hair. She reluctantly threw it into the air and boarded her 'ship' once it transformed. Better the devil she knew then the devil she didn't, she decided. She took to the air and flew off, taking the routes that had been drilled in her head so that Naraku could keep the privacy he tried so hard to maintain. 

"Are you sure this will work?"

"Yes, I'm positive. Now we should give them their privacy."

Sango gave Miroku a skeptical look. They were in a small room with two small futon beds and other accessories, including a mini-bar that amused Shippo to no end, despite the fact that he'd never be able to drink it. He just liked the way the door opened and closed by sliding out. The building the room belonged to was a small in with about eight rooms in classical Japanese style, including two hot springs out back. Shippo had been successful in booking a room for a few nights but now the two mortals and two angels were in a spare room for safety purposes more then anything.

When Miroku had brought back Inu-Yasha the atmosphere had immediately turned cold. Inu-Yasha refused to look at Kagome, Kagome refused to talk to Inu-Yasha, and when Miroku and Sango had tried to intervene it had only caused problems. Soon Miroku had decided the odd couple needed some time alone and shoed everybody out. Sango, however, was suspicious that the monk had his own plans while they were giving Inu-Yasha and Kagome 'time to heal'. She kept Kirrara close to her and herself far from the lecherous monk's wandering hands. 

"Privacy?" she asked, her voice laden with sarcasm. "Doesn't that mean we _don't_ listen in on their conversations?" She grabbed the monk's ear and pulled him away from the wall. 

"Ow!" Miroku pulled his ear out of Sango's grasp. He rubbed it, looking hurt. "Well it's not like they're doing anything anyway." 

"What do you expect them to do?" Sango asked, then decided she'd rather not know what was going on in the monk's head. She backed up a bit some more. 

Miroku shrugged. "I expected Kagome-sama and Inu-Yasha would at least fight, but it's silent as a tomb in there. Maybe leaving them alone wasn't such a good thing after all…" He sighed wistfully. 

"Houshi-sama, you don't honestly expect this plan to work, do you?" The girl beside him asked. "After all, Kagome seemed pretty upset and I don't think leaving them alone is going to help much."

Miroku thought about this for a moment. "You're right, she needs a shoulder to cry on." He stood up and started going through the wall when Sango grabbed the hem of his robe and pulled him back down into a sitting position again. "You're not going anywhere near that girl, you pervert." She scolded him. 

"I'm being considerate." Miroku pouted. 

"Like when you asked her to bear your child?"

"I'm sorry but that is what I ask all the girls." Miroku defended, wondering why he always got the rap.

Sango was getting exasperated with him and his antics. "You've never asked me." She grumbled then paused, and wondered why in the world she had said that.  She didn't actually _want_ him to ask her, did she?

She didn't have much time to think about it. As if realizing a crucial mistake (which to him it probably was) Miroku grabbed her hands and held him them, looking at her in shock. "Sango-chan, please find it in your heart to forgive me! I was just never given the opportunity to ask you, but now I shall – " 

Smack!

Sango zoomed on the other side of the room, clutching Kirrara tightly and blinking in shock. Miroku was frozen, then rubbed the handprint on his cheek and sighed. He'll never understand women. 

"Myuuu!" a tiny form latched itself onto Miroku's shoulder. "Miroku-sama! What is wrong?"

"Myouga-ji-san?" Shippo hopped over from where he finally stopped playing with the mini-bar. "What's going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know." Myouga huffed. "Inu-Yasha-sama and Kagome-sama have been sitting in that room for ages and you have been here. What did I miss?"

Miroku explained.

Myouga sat there and rubbed his whiskers thoughtfully after hearing the story. "Hmm… Sounds as if Inu-Yasha-sama has learned an important lesson. It's something I've been trying to teach his father for years and years!" He tapped himself on the head and sighed. "Children never listen to their elders."

"You have to admit, it's pretty hard to listen to someone who runs away often." Miroku said dryly and Sango agreed with him. Myouga sweatdropped. He coughed and quickly tried to change the subject. "Well, what exactly is going on between those two?"

"Nothing." Miroku sighed, with a glance at the wall separate them and the dysfunctional pair. "They haven't moved, as far as I can tell, for the past hour."

"Hmm…" Myouga thought. "Perhaps we should leave them alone and let them come to their own decisions."

Miroku nodded with agreement. "Good idea." He said, as both he and Myouga leaned against the wall to listen in. Sango sighed. She'll never understand men.

Kagome fiddled with her skirt for the three-billionth time that hour and wondered if she should say something. Miroku had come back with Inu-Yasha and her guardian had refused to meet her eyes. She didn't really want to talk to Inu-Yasha; she was still angry with him for breaking their trust and keeping such a drastic secret from her. 

What am I getting all worked up for, she wondered. Kikyou's dead. Well, sorta. I guess I'm Kikyou now, since I'm her Reborn. Does that mean… Does Inu-Yasha still… what am I thinking? She shook her head quickly. Get out, stupid wandering thoughts. She sighed inwardly. Maybe I should just apologize for being so judgmental. I mean, if the situation were reversed I'd probably have kept the secret from Inu-Yasha. Not that there are any secrets I can keep from him. He's been with me my entire life, knows me even better then my own mother does. Probably just thinks of me as a little sister, nothing more. I'm just a little baby sister that gets in the way too much and doesn't know when to quit.

She stole a glance over at her guardian, who was still sitting cross-armed and staring at the wall. He seemed to feel Kagome's eyes on him because he glanced over. She quickly turned and twiddled with her skirt again. When she glanced back for a second time he was back to staring at the wall, as if she weren't there. Well girl, she thought, it's now or never. 

"I-Inu-Yasha…"

"What?"

Well _that_ certainly changed everything. Kagome frowned at the curt, and rather rude, reply from her guardian, not impressed in the slightest. "Nothing. Never mind." She muttered. He was such a jerk sometimes – scratch that, he was a jerk all the time. Okay, maybe not all the time, but most of the time. Still, he was a jerk! And a man-whore too, she thought, trying to cheer herself up. He was just a dirty, foul-mouthed, dog-eared jerk and a man-whore to boot. And he was an angel! It was like she was stuck in backwards land or something crappy like that. Kami, she was even starting to sound like him…

"Keh girl, what's your problem? You can never seem to just talk to people right out, you just always whimper around and hope they'll get what you're trying to say. Can't you speak up for yourself once in your afterlife?" Inu-Yasha snorted. Kagome fumed. 

Oh, and I suppose Kikyou was a great talker? She thought angrily. That's all he probably ever did during her life, just sit there and go 'oh look, here's another trait that's not like Kikyou'. I wonder just how much I am like her. Kami, it's only been a few hours that I've even known of her existence and already I'm starting to hate her. She was probably a slut, just like Inu-Yasha's a man-whore. I'm the reincarnation of a man-whore angel's slut. Sign me up for Jerry Springer. 

She contemplated saying 'sit' when another, just as evil, idea popped in her head, courtesy of her 'man-whore' comments. She remembered the first night she and Inu-Yasha had met and the way she acted. He got embarrassed really easy, now that she remembered it, and it was almost cute if she wasn't so angry at him. We'll just see how much of a man-whore he really is, she thought while getting up. Besides, this would probably shut him up over the whole argument and the last thing she wanted was to spend another few days arguing with a tenacious angel with demon blood.

"Inu-Yasha?" The angel looked up as his task came and sat right beside him. He blinked a few times. She wasn't going to say 'sit'? He was positive that would be her reaction. Instead she was sitting there with that face she always had when she was getting her way. She had sat down right beside him and now she inched over so that she was pressed right up against his side. He stiffened, unsure what to do. Had Kagome finally snapped?

"What is it?" he muttered, looking away. Kagome almost giggled. Boys will be boys and Inu-Yasha was especially cute and naïve, no matter what he'd say. She rested her head on his shoulder and felt him jump, like he wanted to run away but was afraid to. She smiled; served him right. 

"I just want to say I'm sorry for everything." She said quietly. Come to think of it, she was kind of tired and with the kimono it made his shoulder rather soft. She closed her eyes and relaxed a bit. You know, if I wasn't so mad at him I could actually sleep like this, she thought. She decided to keep apologizing, unconsciously leaning into his warmth. It reminded her a lot of the first night on the building roof on top of the light, before they started sleeping in hotels. "And I'm sorry for running away again. Every time I run away it just causes problems and get kidnapped or attacked or something like that. I'll try to stay close to you from now on." She drifted off, relaxing a bit more. He was actually really comfortable…

Inu-Yasha looked down at his task, unsure what to do. His task, Kagome, the girl he would have swore would have 'sit' him to the other side of the world, was instead leaning on his shoulder, a gentle smile on her face. What in the twelve hells was wrong with her? One minute she's angry with him the next she's treating him like a pillow. His ears twitched as he caught her gentle breathing. Now she was asleep. He wondered where Sango, Kirrara, Miroku and that gaki ran off to, and hoped to everything they wouldn't come back right now. He relaxed a bit and, after a moment's hesitation, put his arm around her waist and pulled her a little closer.

"You're a little late, Kagura." The demon clenched her fist at her side, but otherwise made no movement. She stood outside the door of her master's room, trying hard not to think about ways to kill him. For all she knew he had made another detachment that could read minds and with her points system right now she'd be in a good deal of shit. Instead she kept her mind a careful blank and waited to see what else Naraku would say.

There were a few moments of silence, then Naraku spoke again. "Don't worry, you may come in. Your elder sister is already here." Kagura hissed under her breath. So he did know, watching with Kanna's mirror. She was going to get it now. Darkly, she turned around and entered the room as the door entered, trying to look as if nothing was the matter. 

Inside the room were Naraku and a completely white demon that looked like a young child with soulless eyes. She was kneeling in front of The Master with a small, round mirror held in her hands. Naraku seemed to be watching the inside of the mirror, but glanced up briefly as Kagura entered. His gaze flickered back to the mirror. 

"You've failed, Kagura." He said. Kagura didn't move or speak. Naraku continued. "I have given you a simple task to retrieve one mortal girl and you could not complete it."

"I was attacked by the three-blood." She said by ways of an explanation. Naraku didn't seem to accept it and his eyes narrowed, "How many chances must I give you?" he said darkly. Kagura swallowed nervously and bowed. "Please master, it won't happen again. Just give me another chance."

"Kagura." She looked up at the sound of her name and found Naraku looking at her coldly. "Since I have died you and your elder sister Kanna have stayed and awaited my return."

It's not like we had a choice, Kagura thought but wisely kept those thoughts to herself. Naraku continued, oblivious to his minion's thoughts. "You have been my longest living servants, and for that I give you some leniency. However, I cannot give you any special cases; you must not fail me again."

"I understand." She said, bowing again, hoping to the Lords she wouldn't throw up. She hated this castle, hated the smell, the sounds, the sight, everything. But there was nothing she hated more about this castle then it's occupant. Cold, evil, cruel and powerful, Naraku was everything a demon could hope to become. He was too malicious to be a Lord, but in Kagura's opinion that was a good thing. But now he lived only to bring living hell to all three realms and was using her to do it. She dimly wondered when the last time Naraku ever did his own dirty work was. 

"I have been watching the mortals and angels," Naraku was saying, breaking Kagura out of her thoughts. She looked up to see her master watching through Kanna's mirror again, where the small but clear figures of the dead monk and takijin, as well as their angels, sat and were talking. "They appear to have a plan of some sort, perhaps for a party to cheer each other up." Naraku smiled maliciously. "A party we will have to crash."

"Hai." Kagura nodded. Naraku didn't look at her as he spoke. "Don't screw up again Kagura." He said calmly. "I won't be so generous next time. Now here is what you must do."

Sango looked from Miroku to Shippo to Kirrara and then to the roof. She checked the clock on the far wall, then glanced over at Miroku and Shippo again, who were carefully watching the wall that connected the empty room and the room they were actually supposed to be staying in. After a few more moments a tiny form hopped through the wall and onto Shippo's shoulder.

"Well ji-san?" Miroku asked, picking up Shippo and thus Myouga in the process, ignoring the kitsune angel's protests. Myouga smiled warmly, quite a feat for a flea, even if he was a demon. 

"Fast asleep, both of them." He said. "For once in his life it looks like Inu-Yasha-sama hasn't screwed up."

"Once in his life." Miroku agreed. "Does that mean it's safe to go in now?"

Sango peeked through the wall then turned back to the monk, demon and angels and nodded. "What I think we should do is go in there quietly, take our stuff and then go get something to eat and come back." She smiled. "They look peaceful like that. Give them some rest."

Miroku nodded whole-heartedly. "And you and I, Sango-chan," He said, grabbing the girl's hands. "We can go to dinner and a movie or something nice and romantic like that."

Sango looked from his hands clasping hers to his face, to the hands to his face, back and forth, back and forth, getting redder each time. Finally she snatched her hands away and turned around to hide her still reddening face. "I'm not going on a date with you." She said firmly and quickly, while Kirrara watched her, slightly amused. 

"Does that mean you don't wish to go somewhere with me?" Miroku asked dejectedly. Sango blushed even further. 

"N-n-no, not that!" She stammered, glaring at Kirrara who pretended not to notice by beginning to groom her tails. Sango fisted her hands at her sides, hoping maybe either the world would blow up or everyone would suddenly fall asleep and wake up forgetting about this so that she wouldn't have to deal with it. "Besides, there's that festival we're going to on Saturday, remember? I'm going there with you… I guess…"

"Ah, you're right." Miroku nodded. Before he had gone to collect Inu-Yasha, he, Shippo, Sango and Kirrara had found a few hints, such as a set up crew, hundreds of booths and ads everywhere, that a spring festival was happening the following night, Saturday. All four had agreed it would be a perfect place to unwind and forget their problems for a while, and it was close to shrines anyway, so any problems wouldn't be that bad. After the whole problem with Kagome and Inu-Yasha, it only strengthened their belief that the festival would help them all get a bit of tension out. However, from how Kagome and Inu-Yasha got along, tomorrow could forebode either a very happy Inu-Yasha (and a happy Miroku, if luck was on his side) or a disaster so horrible even the living mortals would notice. Miroku really, really wished for the former, for Inu-Yasha's sake of course. He smiled and walked up to Sango, putting his arm around her waist. "Yes, and I'm sure tomorrow at the festival will be a most wonderful time, don't you agree?" he asked, slipping his hand downwards a little more.

SMACK!

Sango stormed away in a huff, leaving Miroku with Shippo, Myouga and a red hand mark. Shippo and Myouga eyed each other, both thinking that the monk wasn't careful he might get one that was permanent some day. Miroku just sighed and rubbed the handprint absently. He couldn't help but smile though. 

"I think she likes me."

End Chapter 11

Well everybody, that's it for the chapter! (Kami, fluff is harder then it looks to write!) There are only two more chapters and the first book is finished! Woot! Then it's just two more books to go! (for those that don't understand, see ending comments of Chap. 10)

And the contest is still rolling along, for the title of the first book. Careful, you only have two days left for your chance to be in Chapter 12! 

For the few who don't know, the contest is that my muse is mean and won't give me a satisfactory title for the first book (books in novels always have to have titles). So I decided, since reader interaction is always a good thing, to see what you guys think would be a good title for the first book of Guardian Angel. I've been getting some really good suggestions, so keep them coming! The deadline is 8:00pm Wednesday, November 27th. Hope to read even more good suggestions!

Well, I've posted the story, thanked more of my reviewers and posted up the final details of the 'Book Title' contest. Looks like my work here is done.

Until Wednesday!

~Ama

("It seems that Sango's in love with Miroku-sama, don't you think?"

  "How? Sango always hates it when Miroku touches her butt."

   - Kagome & Inu-Yasha)


	12. Chapter 12: Festival

Chapter 12! Ah, it feels so good to be back on track…

(By the way, I know next to nothing about Kyoto or festivals or anything like that. All the information I have is complied from watching anime. Just warning you, if you find something wrong and please, feel free to point it out. We learn from our mistake)

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha, Kagome, Sango, Kirrara, Miroku, Shippo, Myouga, Naraku, Kagura, Kanna or anyone else in one of the greatest manga/animes of all time. And no… I'm not sucking up…

*Oh, and thanks to  ---  for noticing the screw-ups with the words 'where' and 'wear'. I can't believe I didn't notice that! *smacks self on head*

**Chapter 12:**

** Festival**

The midday sun hung over the bustling streets of the outskirts of suburbia Kyoto, where the sakura petals were falling like snowflakes. The country houses, restaurants, inns, stores and other buildings of many kinds were open and people were milling about, enjoying their lives as the beautiful, spiritual city prepared for a spring fair that very evening. Tourists and locals alike were excited, and the air was as alive with buzz as those that filled the air with it. 

None of them were aware of the huge shout that frightened a few animals, sent some birds into flight and shocked the undead bejeebas out of a few ghosts that resided in the area. 

"I am NOT wearing THAT!"

The shout originated from a classical Japanese inn, located on a small hill with beautiful gardens and it's own share of blossoming cherry trees. Inside the inn the living occupants were none the wiser to the half-angel who was fending off a group of ghosts in one of the finely decorated rooms; they probably wouldn't be as cheerful as they were if they knew.

Inu-Yasha snarled at a frustrated Kagome and Sango, who were trying to convince him to change out of his old kimono and into some a little nicer for the festival. After he disregarded every single outfit they could think of the girls finally decided they would pick what was best for him. Miroku, Shippo, Kirrara and Myouga had all wisely chosen to stay out of the war, leaving the poor Inu-Yasha by himself against two girls who were slowly losing their temper. 

"Listen Inu-Yasha," Kagome said, trying very hard to contain her patience. "I know you like your kimono and everything but you should at least wear something nice for the festival. I don't care if you chose something out of date, just anything but that!" Inu-Yasha crossed his arms and refused to move.

"Inu-Yasha, just listen to Kagome-chan." Sango advised. "Just pick something and wear it. It's only for one night."

"Keh." Inu-Yasha snorted, eyeing the outfits Kagome and Sango had conjured up (with help from the angels, of course). His gaze went to the girls then over to Miroku, who was sitting calmly in the corner and rather enjoying this. "Why doesn't he have to wear something stupid?" The half-angel asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow. 

"Because he's already chosen an outfit!" Kagome nearly shouted with exasperation. "Look, all you have to do is wear a nice outfit! For one night! Is that too hard to ask?"

Inu-Yasha grinned. "Yes."

"Why you…" Kagome clenched her fists and really, really looked like she was restraining herself from just going over there and using a different measure to get Inu-Yasha to comply. She turned around in a huff. "Inu-Yasha, SIT!"

There was a loud 'thump' noise, followed by a string of swearing. Inu-Yasha pushed himself upwards, growling in his throat. "Why you…" He jumped up in front of Kagome, practically in her face. "What'd ya do that for?" He snapped. 

"Because you're an obstinate jerk!" She shouted back, poking him in the chest to punctuate her point. Inu-Yasha's ears twitched and he snarled back. 

"I'm not a jerk, you're a stubborn bitch!"

"Jerk!"

"Bitch!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

The arguing continued on, Miroku and Shippo sighing through all of this and rubbing their foreheads simultaneously. "Sometimes I wonder if they're actually older then me." Shippo sighed.

"They're not." Miroku reminded him.

"Well, Kagome's not. But they still act younger." Shippo argued. Miroku nodded. "Good point." He said, watching the half-angel and his aggravated task argue back and forth like a broken record. Even Sango was getting a little tired of the banter.

"Inu-Yasha… don't make me say it again." Kagome threatened, and Inu-Yasha looked as though he'd like to say something back, but instead he turned his back on the girl and sat down. "I'm not getting changed." He said stubbornly. 

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"YES!"

"NO!"

"FINE! Go naked!" Kagome shouted, throwing her arms in the air in disgust and going to sit beside Miroku, Sango and the other angels. Inu-Yasha was sitting there, slightly stunned and even the others had to look at the fuming Kagome with some question. 

"Wha-What did you say?" Inu-Yasha asked, looking at his task in confusion. 

"You heard me." Kagome said, although she couldn't keep the slight red from her cheeks. "If you don't want to get a new outfit then either go naked or don't come at all. There are going to be other ghosts there and I don't want it to seem that my guardian is an out-dated barbarian!"

Inu-Yasha stared at her, blinking a few times. 

"I must say that this is one of their most interesting arguments." Miroku observed and Sango and the angels had to agree. Kagome and Inu-Yasha either didn't hear them or ignored it as they continued their conversation. 

"So you're saying that I either don't go or I go naked? Those are my only choices?" Inu-Yasha asked, trying to get a grip on this in his mind. 

"Or get changed into a different outfit." Kagome said curtly. "But don't wear that. First of all, it clashes with the yukata I'm going to wear. Second of all, it looks like we just found you frozen in a block of ice and defrosted you and brought you along."

"Eh?" Inu-Yasha was getting completely confused now. He frowned, his eyebrows knitting together. "I don't want to get changed and I'm sure as hell not going naked but I have to be there. What the hell kinds of choices are you giving me?" He asked, looking at his task. She kept the frown on her face but inside she was close to laughing. The way he was sitting there, his head cocked to one side, staring into space with puzzled eyes and his left ear twitching slightly with confusion he really did look like a puppy dog. But still, she had to keep up appearances. She nodded. "Only those three. Pick one." She almost smiled. He would definitely get changed now.

"Fine then." Inu-Yasha sighed, absently pulling a loose thread off of Tetsusaiga's handle cover. "I won't go."

Kagome sat there for a few seconds, blinking. Then suddenly her brain seemed to work again. "You what?" She asked, standing up.

"I won't go." Inu-Yasha said, looking at her calmly. "I'm not getting changed and I'm not going naked. So I'm not going."

Kagome stared at him opened mouth and he looked back at her with a straight face, although the edges of his mouth were slightly curled in a smug smile. Kagome's expression darkened and she glared at her guardian. "Fine then, you… you…. JERK! SIT!" She turned on her heel and stormed off, as Inu-Yasha tried to push himself up and he watched her jump through the window. "Kagome!" He shouted, but she was already gone. Inu-Yasha snarled and sat up, crossing his arms and going into 'Inu-Yasha-pout-mode'. He sulked darkly. 

"The hell I'd do this time? She gave me three choices, I picked one. What the hell's up with her?" He glanced over at the other mortals and angels still in the room. "What the hell are you looking at?" He snarled. 

"Nothing." Miroku smiled in his way and decided now would be a good time to talk to Shippo – somewhere else. Sango left to go talk to Kagome and she brought Kirrara with her. Inu-Yasha sat there, still sulking, trying to figure out what in the twelve hells he had done to get a female task, especially one as obstinate as Kagome. Damn her! He snorted and glanced over at the outfits Kagome had laid out for him. These stupid outfits were the reason she was angry at him. He sighed and hung his head, hating himself for what he was about to do.

"I hate you all, you know that?" Inu-Yasha grumbled under his breath so Kagome wouldn't hear him. Miroku overheard him and smiled, patting the poor angel on the shoulder. "It'll be alright Inu-Yasha. Festivals aren't so bad. Look at the colours, the patterns, the decorations!"

"You're looking at the clothes the girls are wearing." Inu-Yasha pointed out and Miroku smiled again. "Details, details." He said, fixing the rosary and glove that covered his Air Rip to make it look more fashionable. "After all, it's what the festivals are all about." He admired the goldfish design that patterned one girl's outfit close to her rear. 

Sango frowned at the monk's actions and Kagome hid a smile. This was a festival and they were all here to have fun, even if they couldn't play any of the games. But Miroku had told them that sometimes, if enough ghosts come to a festival, there would be a section that the spirits had taken for themselves and set up their own games. There was certainly a fair number of spirits, Kagome had noticed. For every five living auras she saw she spotted a ghost and an angel aura. With so many people here, however, she was having a hard time seeing the actual spirits and guardians, but she had spotted a few, such as what appeared to be an adult man and what she assumed to be his angel, which looked almost human except it was really tall, dressed completely in green and had pointed ears and long, gold hair. A few other angels she had seen were no more normal; a six-winged serpent, a human with insect wings, even what looked like a vampire. If she couldn't see their auras she would have been certain they were demons. Strange how some things worked out.

It was around six in the evening, so the sun was just beginning to set and the food vendors were selling at their maximum, spreading a wonderful smell through the area. Kagome inhaled deeply, remembering these foods from her life and really, really wanting some. Still, they had just arrived and she wanted to look around first before 'acquiring' a meal. 

They wouldn't have been so late if Inu-Yasha had just cooperated but at least he came. After a strange change of heart he reluctantly agreed to wear one of the 'stupid outfits' to the festival. Of course, he immediately disliked the one they thought suited him best but he had promised and Kagome and Sango had finally persuaded him to wear it. 

He actually looked nice in it, she mused. It was a dark fuchsia-red kimono with gold trim and a golden oriental dragon circling the right shoulder. They had actually managed to brush his hair, although it was an experience Kagome hoped never to repeat, and had done it up into a ponytail so the demonic angel looked at least as human as possible. He still had Tetsusaiga on his waist and the rosary around his neck but there was nothing to be done about either. He still looks like a barbarian, Kagome thought, but at least it's a barbarian with some fashion sense. 

Her own yukata was a dark pink with rose trim and light purple flowers, an exact copy of her old yukata from her life. She wore a ribbon in her hair that matched the ribbon that held Inu-Yasha's ponytail together, and had earrings made to look sakura flowers. Sango was wearing a similar yukata expect it was a creamy yellow with large white and rose flowers decorating the entire outfit. Miroku was dressed in a more formal monk's uniform, either trying to look nice so that Kagome and Sango wouldn't bother him or to look important so he could impress any female ghosts he met. Shippo was wearing a similar outfit to what he always wore, except his furry vest had been replaced with a silk one. Kirrara hadn't changed.

"Oh! A goldfish pond!" Kagome exclaimed excitedly, going over to the booth where a young child was trying to catch a prize goldfish. "This was always one of my favorite places to go when I was alive!"

"I know." Inu-Yasha muttered. He'd never be able to figure out what was so special about the stupid goldfish. He tugged nervously on his ponytail, not used to doing pretty much anything with his hair. "How much longer do we have to stay here?" he asked wearily. 

"Inu-Yasha, we just got here!" Kagome sighed. "And we're not leaving until the fireworks!"

"When's that?" Inu-Yasha, hoping it wasn't long.

"10 'o' clock." Kagome said. Inu-Yasha looked confused and frowned as he tried to figure out how long that was. "Four hours." Kagome clarified. Her guardian's face fell. "Shit." He muttered. 

"If you're not careful I'm going to say that word and leave out the 'h'." Kagome warned. Inu-Yasha clamped his mouth shut and glared at her. Kagome smiled sweetly as she turned to the rest of her friends. "Let's go check out the festival, shall we?"

"'K." Miroku and Sango nodded and followed Kagome as they wandered around the festival, admiring the sights and sounds. Inu-Yasha followed skulking, toying with Tetsusaiga's handle and walking straight through people, ignored the fact he was giving them strange chills. 

"Inu-Yasha? Inu-Yasha!" Everyone looked up as a strange girl ran up, beaming. Miroku and Sango looked curiously over at Kagome, who frowned. "She's an angel." Kagome said and looked at Shippo on her shoulder who, for all his youth, was turning into her fountain of knowledge. "Who is she?"

"I – I have no idea." Shippo said, shrinking into a small ball. Kagome took his word and looked back over at the angel, who was grinning at a bewildered Inu-Yasha. 

"Haven't seen you in _ages_." She was saying and winked at him. "What have you been doing with your life? Still an exterminator?"

"I'm a guardian angel now." Inu-Yasha said, getting his wits back and crossing his arms. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"A guardian angel?" The girl blinked. "You? Really? Wow, time flies when you're traveling. It's been what?"

"200 years." Inu-Yasha snorted. "And I repeat: What the hell are you doing here?"

"Travlin'." The angel responded with another grin and she glanced over at the rest of the group. "Oh, Kirrara-chan!" She said, crouching down and patting the small cat angel on the head. "How have you been? Still guarding?" She looked over at Shippo, seemingly ignoring Sango and Miroku. "Oh, and how cute! Say, don't you look familiar?" She said, tweaking Shippo's cheek.

"He's Kinu's son." Inu-Yasha said, dragging her away. "And will you answer my dammed question already?" He growled, holding her aloft by her collar.

"I did." The girl pouted and focused still on the group. Then her eyes fell on Kagome. "Oh my!" She somehow broke free of Inu-Yasha's grip and was face-to-face with a confused Kagome. "You! What are you doing here, especially wi-" she paused and looked Kagome over before meeting the girl's eyes again with a look of confusion. "Oh. Sorry, my mistake. You just look really, really familiar." She glanced over at Inu-Yasha for an explanation, although he looked more like he'd rather bite her head off.  

"Reborn." He nearly snarled, hoping she would go away. "Now I'm not going to say it agai-"

But the angel was ignoring him now. "Reborn? And you're her guardian?" She giggled. "My, that's funny! Inu-Yasha, at least we can say you're loyal!" She turned around and smiled brightly at the half-angel. "Although don't you get tired of it? Well love, I'm not going anywhere, except maybe China. When you get tired of the dull, boring job of being a guardian angel, then call me up." She flipped his ponytail, turned around to the rest of the group and winked. "Toodles!" With that she transformed into a white dove and flew away at abnormal speeds. 

Everyone stared up at the sky where she disappeared then simultaneously looked down at Inu-Yasha, who was slightly red although it was difficult to tell whether it was from embarrassment or anger. He was still looking up but seemed to feel everyone's eyes on him. He looked down at them and coughed. 

"She's the little sister of Minu, an angel that used to live in my village. Her name's Ayeka and she's annoying as hell. Her sister was a hell of a lot better then that brat." He said nervously, playing with his ponytail. When no one said anything he snarled. "Look, just shut up!" He turned around and stormed away.

"Shut up?" Shippo echoed. "But we weren't saying anything."

"Kagome-chan?" Sango looked over at Kagome, who was still trying to figure out how to react. She frowned. He really is a man-whore, she thought.

"We should go find him before something turns up." Miroku advised. "So far, nothing good has come of us separating."

Sango and Kagome looked as though they wanted to argue, but they both knew he was right. They agreed and followed Miroku and Shippo as they weaved through the crowd, Shippo sniffing to find Inu-Yasha's scent. 

They found him near a shooting gallery, watching dully as a twelve-year-old boy was trying to hit one of the targets. Inu-Yasha had taken out his hair tie and was twirling the ribbon around his claws. His ears turned in their direction then flipped back as though he wanted nothing to do with them. Kagome frowned and was about to storm up to him when Sango put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head.

"Kagome-chan, it's not going to make anything better arguing with him." The older girl advised. "It would be best to just leave it alone since his story seems fairly true and I used to have a friend with a younger sister who was a lot like that. Just let it be and try to enjoy yourself for the rest of the festival. It's the last spring festival we have." She added a little more firmly.

Kagome listened quietly and nodded. Sango was right and there wasn't any proof she had about Inu-Yasha and that girl. Why was she getting jealous anyway? It's not like she liked him or thought about him that way… okay, maybe he did look really, really gorgeous in the outfit he was wearing now and had his nice moments, like the night before at the inn. She smiled secretly, knowing she would never tell Inu-Yasha she was awake for that; he'd kill her. But that didn't mean she wanted him for a boyfriend!

"Well?" She looked up to see Inu-Yasha looking at them, half-angry and half-bored. She almost said the word but decided against it. Do what Sango says and just enjoy your last festival on Earth, she told herself. So instead she smiled and grabbed Inu-Yasha's kimono sleeve. "Let's go get something to eat!" She said, dragging him along. 

"Wha- hey!" Inu-Yasha protested but allowed himself to be pulled away. Sango smiled and shook her head at the antics of the girl and angel, who had just stopped moving and were now arguing over something Inu-Yasha had said again. She heard a small rustling of cloth beside her and frowned; that could only mean one thing.

"Don't even think about it, Houshi-sama." She said. Miroku quickly pulled his hand away and smiled nervously. "Do what?" he asked, trying to sound innocent. Shippo rolled his eyes and jumped to the ground and began tugging on Miroku's pant leg. "C'mon Miroku, Kagome and Inu-Yasha are almost out of sight! I want food too!"

"Good idea. Come Kirrara." Sango said and left. As she thought, Miroku followed and Sango quickly sped up to join with her friend and the half-angel. Last thing she needed was getting lost in this crowd with the lecherous monk. As she slowed down to see which direction the other two had gone she felt an all-to-familiar rubbing on her rear end.

Whack! She turned around and slapped Miroku yet again. "Didn't I warn you?" She asked angrily, before Kirrara indicated where Kagome and Inu-Yasha went and Sango stormed off in that direction.

Shippo sat up and smoothed his hair of where it got ruffled when he ducked just in time to not get hit by Sango. "Why can't I have an easier task?" He wailed, bonking Miroku on the head. "You cause me too much trouble!"

"Silence Shippo." Miroku bonked him back. Then a group caught his eye. "Come now, there are some girls that I'm sure would enjoy your company."

"I give up." Shippo sighed and closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable squealing.

  "Oden!" Kagome pulled Inu-Yasha in another turn and grabbed a few things of oden and a tray. Her eyes were shining. "Oh, what a wonderful world where I can still eat oden!" She picked up one and unceremoniously ate it in one bite. She swallowed and sighed happily, then looked over at her guardian who seemed interested in other things. "Don't you want anything Inu-Yasha?"

The demonic angel didn't seem to hear her and was looking into the crowd, his ears forward and his nose twitching slightly as he sniffed the air. Something was wrong, very wrong. Kagome followed his gaze and realized that she couldn't sense any ghosts or angels here, just a strange, inexplicable cold. She quickly swallowed her third oden and put the rest down. Then a movement caught her eye and she gasped.

"Inu-Yasha! It's Rin!" She grabbed her guardian's sleeve and pointed through the bustling mass of people to a small clearing. If Inu-Yasha knew everything her life then he would definitely know of Rin. He glanced over at where Kagome was pointing and immediately saw the girl. He peeked forward and started to growl.

When Kagome was younger there had been a horrible explosion in her district, killing 13 people and nearly destroying Kagome's shrine. There had only been one survivor in the midst of it, a six-year-old girl named Rin. What was peculiar was that she had survived unscathed and disappeared from the local hospital three days later. While humans had said the explosion was due to terrorists, Inu-Yasha knew better; it was a pack of demons that had devoured the humans' souls then destroyed the buildings to make it look less suspicious. He had always sensed something off about Rin, especially after she disappeared.

Now the young girl was at the festival, confusing both Inu-Yasha and Kagome because she was very much alive. She was dressed in a light yukata and playing hopscotch at the end of one booth hall, where she was mostly being ignored. But right beside her, although it looked rather bored, was a small demon carrying a staff and Rin seemed to be carrying a one-sided conversation with the demon, who would snap at her every once in a while. Yet, for all Kagome looked, she couldn't see a guardian angel around the girl or even close; there was just the demon standing there. What was going on?

"Inu-Yasha?" Kagome looked up at her guardian, who was growling deep in his throat, his hackles somewhat raised. There was definitely something wrong about this girl, but Inu-Yasha seemed most in tune to it. Kagome looked back at Rin, then at the half-angel. "Wha -?"

"Stay here." Inu-Yasha snarled, jumping up to the top of a booth, one hand on Tetsusaiga. He stealthily crawled over to the unsuspecting Rin and her demon companion.

"Kagome?" Kagome looked over to see Sango and Kirrara walk up, watching Inu-Yasha with curiosity. "What's Inu-Yasha doing?" Wordlessly Kagome pointed over to where Inu-Yasha was heading. Sango followed her gaze and gasped. "Tha-that's Rin!"

Inu-Yasha's ears flicked back as he heard Sango's voice, then turned forward again as he resumed his hunting of the live girl and the demon, who still hadn't noticed him. Inu-Yasha's ears were flickering all around and he was sniffing wildly, looking for the demon he knew wasn't far behind. He almost smiled, had he not been snarling so much. So the rumors were true. Oh, the mighty one was going to get a chewing out as soon as Inu-Yasha found him. He chuckled under his breath as he jumped to the last booth right near where Rin was playing quietly. He'd kill Jaken at least, that should draw the pompous asshole out. He'd just hope he wouldn't have to kill the girl, especially with Kagome watching. Why in the twelve hells was the girl here anyway?

Time for questions later, Inu-Yasha thought while drawing Tetsusaiga. He stood up to a crouch, quietly transforming his sword with a flick of the wrist. He coiled up, preparing to spring, when he heard a voice behind him that made his blood run cold and almost caused him to jump out of his skin.

"Savage and barbaric as usual, nephew. I would have thought that living with the angels would have improved your manners. Still, one can't expect much out of a mixed-blood like you. Now won't you turn around and greet me properly, and put that sword away as well. That's no way to greet a Demon Lord."

End Chapter 12

Ha-ha! He's finally appeared, so all of you can stop bothering me! *throws streamers in the air* 'sides, the story's barely a third of the way through, so expect more of our 'mystery visitor' (if you haven't figured out who it is, read it many, many times over. If you still can't figure it out, go hit yourself on the head until you do.) He's gonna be a main character, I just needed the right time for him to pop in. And here he is! Now perhaps I'll stop getting blasphemous letters threatening my life, per say, if a certain fluffy didn't appear. 

And thank you for all your entries for the title of the book! You guys are crazy with your imagination. I have to say, however, that while I wouldn't use it there was one title that caught my eye and I have to write down just because it's so memorable:

Ø "I should have worn my seatbelt" (Tanuki-chan. What brand of sugar do you use?)

Of course there has to be a winner of this contest, and if you were observant you would have noticed the name of said suggestor in the story (look closely at the section with Ayeka) I would like to congratulate Minu for her wonderful suggestion for a title. And now, the title of Book 1 for Guardian Angel:

*!~Fate's Threads~!*

And that's all for now! I'd like to thank everyone for their contributions, including vicous wolf, Tanuki-chan, warriorGL, link no miko and the many others!

On another note, I'd also like to say to everyone that you shouldn't give up hope on the doujinshi: pages 1-3 are outlined and page 1 is nearly completely done! The cover page is a bitch though. Maybe I should hold a contest for that too…

Well anyway, before I start getting master plans for all of you to do my work for me, ja!

~Ama


	13. Chapter 13: Warning

Over 200 reveiws! Hurrah, hurray, it's a time of celebration! *Does the 'over 200 review dance'*

Sesshoumaru is here! More celebration! Isn't he the best? *kuggles Sesshoumaru*

Actually, my friend and me have a sneaky theory about Sesshoumaru: Look at all the hanyous we meet in _Inu-Yasha_. Every single one of them has a demon father and the demon father is –always- a pretty boy. (Actually we don't know about Inu's pop, but we're assuming. Look at his sons!) So thus, we have come to a logical conclusion: Sesshoumaru is going to have a hanyou child. It makes perfect sense, don't you think?

Well, that's enough of my theories. On with the story!

Disclaimer: Own nothing do I.

**Chapter 13:**

**Warning**

"Who's that?" Sango asked, as both she, Kirrara and Kagome watched as Inu-Yasha was alone on the roof one moment and a tall, elaborately dressed man was behind him the next. Kagome shook her head in confusion, having never seen him before. But his aura was demonic and very strong demonic too. And the way he made Inu-Yasha jump was really making her nervous. She wondered if she should go over to where Inu-Yasha was, but then decided she might be safer with Sango and Kirrara.

Inu-Yasha was having the same thoughts as he glanced over to where Kagome, Sango and Kirrara were, before focusing on the demon before him. As long as Kagome stayed with other people, she was going to be fine. He kept the sword in front of him and snarled quietly, much to the other demon's disgust.

"Truly, you are as horrible as your half-blood father." The demon said curtly. "Why chichiue favored him more is beyond my comprehension." His left hand went up to fiddle with one of the two swords hung at his side. He was dressed quite handsomely, wearing a long white kimono with elaborate designs, and a furry boa wrapped around his right shoulder, leaving to question whether it was a decoration or his tail. He wore a chest plate with a thin, spike armlet that wrapped around his left shoulder, and he had two stripes on both sides of his face, with a curved moon design on his forehead. He regarded Inu-Yasha coolly with orange eyes. "Now are we going to discuss this like gentlemen or resort to fighting your way?" His hand gripped the sword handle.

Inu-Yasha snarled a bit more, but decided that a safest way would be to put Tetsusaiga away. No use bringing mortals into this. He jumped onto the ground beside the booth and sat down, holding his hands up but never taking his eyes off of the demon that landed elegantly in front of him. "What do you want Sesshoumaru?"

"That's Fourth Lord to you." The demon said condescendingly. "And I'm here to talk, little nephew, so don't growl at me like that. It's most unbecoming of you."

Inu-Yasha glared at him. "If you came here to talk, then talk. I'm not going to sit around and take your insults all night, _uncle_. So just be a good Demon Lord, say your shit and get the hell out of here. And take your bitch with you." He jabbed a thumb behind him to the girl and the other demon, who were watching them now.

Sesshoumaru frowned and seemed about to say something when the other demon spoke up. "Inu-Yasha, mind your tongue! Do not call Sesshoumaru-sama's mortal soul a – a 'bitch'!" He hit Inu-Yasha on the head with his staff.

"I was talking about you." Inu-Yasha leered at him, grabbing the demon's staff and bonking him on the head with it. The demon nursed the wound on his head and looked dearly like he wanted to hit Inu-Yasha again but knew he'd just get the blow back double time. Then what Inu-Yasha said reached him. "How dare you call this Jaken a bitch!" He shrieked.

"Shut up." Inu-Yasha snapped and Jaken did so, only because Sesshoumaru was glaring at him as well. The smaller demon pouted and fiddled with his staff, glaring at the confused young Rin as if all this were her fault.

"Rin and Jaken are here merely to draw you out, which worked as well as I expected." Sesshoumaru explained, ignoring his henchman's protests.

" 'Draw me out'?" Inu-Yasha repeated sarcastically. "You've sunk that low that you had to use a mortal and a demon that couldn't even defeat a baby to draw me out? Keh, you really are pathetic." He glanced back to where Jaken was glaring at him and Rin was watching him with wide-eyes. He turned back to the Demon Lord. "And since when did you have a mortal follower anyway? I thought you hated them all."

Sesshoumaru was doing a rather good job at keeping a straight face and not just killing his quarter-nephew right then and there for his impudence. He stopped fiddling with his sword's handle and rested his arm by his side while the other held his boa up and he looked at the half-angel coolly.

"I suppose you've heard about the girl then." He said, then continued before Inu-Yasha could answer. "It's really rather simple. Rin's family and neighbors were attacked by soul-sucking demons, which after destroyed the place to remove the evidence, although I assume you already know that. However, the girl's guardian angel died defending her, yet she was not harmed. I happened to be fixing up any problems the demons may have caused when I found her and decided to allow her to join me, since the incident had caused her to faze half-in, half-out between the mortal and spiritual realms. I just gave her a little boost into the spiritual one."

"You killed her." Inu-Yasha accused immediately, although he knew it didn't make sense.

Sesshoumaru looked at him as though he were a complete idiot. "No, as you can see she is very much alive. I just simply crossed her over here so that I may watch her more closely."

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow. "Can I ask why?"

Sesshoumaru was beginning to look slightly irritated. "That is none of your concern, _nephew_. That is not what I'm here for."

Inu-Yasha's gaze flickered to Kagome and Sango before focusing back on the powerful demon before him. "I suppose you either want to talk or kill me, eh?" He himself rested a hand on Tetsusaiga's handle. The Fourth Lord was beginning to look annoyed. 

"Nephew, you should know better then that that I, Sesshoumaru, am now a Lord of Hell and keeper of one of the twelve keys, which means I care naught for your stupid little plaything anymore. I am now more powerful then your chichiue and do not require his fang for my own suffice." The corner of his mouth twitched into what was almost a smile. "I am here for a much more important discussion concerning your incompetence." 

"My what?" Inu-Yasha snarled, shifting positions so he could move more easily. Sesshoumaru regarded him calmly. 

"Your incompetence, nephew, on killing a certain demon nearly 200 years ago. I believe you know exactly what I'm talking about." He watched Inu-Yasha as the younger growled under his breath but was now interested in Tetsusaiga's handle. Sesshoumaru seemed unfazed, although slightly amused, by Inu-Yasha's actions. "I also believe that you're very much aware that your little 'party' is made up of the reincarnations or descendants of that half-breed's original group that defeated the cretin: You, Kinu's brat, the feline, the monk, the exterminator and of course," Again came the near smile hovering as Sesshoumaru watched Inu-Yasha begin to growl, "the Reborn. Whose very existence is due to your incompetence."

Inu-Yasha bristled at Sesshoumaru's blunt observations but before he could snap out a retort the Demon Lord held up a delicate, clawed hand to silence him. "The Reborn is the reason why I am here, to warn you. I, Sesshoumaru, am a very powerful Demon Lord, at the highest point in the ranks and ruling over the eastern section. However this… Naraku," he spoke the word heavily with distaste, "is an extremely influential demon and has recruited many. Weak demons, I agree, but the sheer numbers of them is far more then enough to overrun this small, pathetic realm of mortals." He looked pointedly at the half-angel, who matched him glare for glare.

After a moment or so Inu-Yasha let out a sharp bark, almost laughing. "Nice try unc," he sneered, "but since when did you care for the lives of mortals? I know how fuckin' stuck up you are and this is probably the first time in your life you seem to give a damn." He glanced back at Rin and smirked. "'k, second." 

Sesshoumaru was beginning to get irritated. "I still believe that mortals are pathetic, useless creatures inferior to demons, but that is not why I have concern for this world. It's the keys that I worry about, and no matter what existence the key is in when it's destroyed it still results in disaster in all three existences. Naraku is focusing on this area and I felt that I should warn you in case he should attack, especially since he is determined to get a hold of the Reborn. Besides," He added, the slight, smug turn at the corner of his mouth apparent this time, "it is to be I, Sesshoumaru that kills you. I don't want that pleasure taken away from me once more." He walked past Inu-Yasha to where Rin and Jaken waited and walked past them. "Until we meet again, nephew." He said, disappearing into the shadows, his followers watching the blackness. 

"Se-Sesshoumaru-sama~a!" Jaken squealed and stumbled into the shadows, followed by the strange girl Rin, both of them disappearing from sight.

Inu-Yasha snorted, watching where they had disappeared to for a few minutes before standing up and brushing off the dirt on the kimono Kagome had picked out for him. His ears twitched backwards at a few sounds, as he picked a few stubborn dirt flakes off one knee before his ears snapped completely back and he froze.

He was up in a flash, jumping on top of a booth, Tetsusaiga unsheathed and transformed. He ran over to where Kagome and Sango had been and positioned himself right overtop of them. He sniffed then twitched his ears before launching himself from the roof, shouting efficiently.

"Die you bastar-"

"SIT!"

Inu-Yasha slammed into the ground, momentum added by his powerful jump, Tetsusaiga transforming to its original state and falling to the ground as the half-angel flexed his claws angrily. He lifted his head, spat out a few pebbles, then shot an evil glare at the girl standing over him. "Dammit girl, what the fuck was that for?"

She glared at him. "That's just what I was about to ask you. Were you trying to kill us?"

"Kill you? I was trying to fuckin' save you!" He shouted, pushing himself up. Kagome looked confused. "From what?" she asked. "There's nothing here."

"Shut up." Inu-Yasha snarled, still temperamental from the family reunion. Kagome sighed when she shrieked and jumped. Inu-Yasha was up in a flash, Tetsusaiga drawn and ready to kill any demons. Instead, Kagome handled it pretty well herself with a good slap to Miroku's face, Sango helping along with her boomerang. Shippo peeked out from behind Miroku where he had been hiding and hopped over to Kagome's shoulder to look at her angel curiously. "Inu-Yasha, what's got you so worked up?"

Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Kirrara looked over to where Inu-Yasha looked liable to kill as he put Tetsusaiga away. "Nothing." He mumbled. "I'm just a bit tense, that all."

Kagome remembered the demon that Inu-Yasha had been talking to before he disappeared. "Inu-Yasha who was that?" She asked, receiving no answer from her guardian. "Inu-Yasha?"

"That was Sesshoumaru-sama, Inu-Yasha's uncle." Myouga said from his perch in Shippo's hair. Everyone looked at him in shock, except Inu-Yasha who was dearly wishing that the flea demon didn't know everything about him. Myouga nodded at their disbelief. "It is true. Inu-Yasha's father was a hanyou but he had an older, full youkai brother as well. Of course, they tried to kill each other many, many times because although Inu-Yasha's grandfather was a Demon Lord he still favored his half-breed son."

Anymore Myouga had to say was cut short by Inu-Yasha squashing the tiny flea, an irritated look on his face. Kagome looked back at him, similar irritation on her face. "What did you do that for?"

"I'm tired of the old man telling my freakin' life story." Inu-Yasha growled, turning his back on the group. "So just shut the hell up." His ears twitched angrily and Kagome fumed, close to saying the 's' word when her thoughts, as well as everyone else's, were interrupted by a high-pitched scream. Everyone looked over in the direction of the scream to see a huge flame shoot up into the air and a giant group of people running frantically away from it. Out of the blaze a red, snake-like demon rose out, it's two heads hissing and grinning wickedly, one shooting flame. Inu-Yasha grabbed Kagome and jumped away while Kirrara transformed and pulled Sango and Miroku out of the way of the fiery blast. 

Before their eyes a swarm of hundreds of demons began teeming around the fair grounds. Inu-Yasha swore and landed on a booth, putting Kagome down. He quickly surveyed the information and turned to Kirrara.

"Miroku!" He shouted, getting the monk's attention. "How good is that 'air rip' of yours?"

Miroku smiled, beginning to unravel the beads around his wrist. "One step ahead of you, Inu-Yasha. Sango put me down and stay out of the way." He advised the girl, who nodded and Kirrara set the monk down on another booth top. As the angel and girl pulled back Miroku ripped the beads off of his wrist and before the spirit's eyes a black hole in his hand began to literally suck up everything around him. As they watched the smaller demons were pulled into the void, along with leaves and other small objects from the mortal realm. Everything else seemed pretty much unfazed, although Kagome didn't want to be in the way of that vacuum. 

However there were too many demons for just Miroku to dispose of, so quickly Sango transformed into her battle costume and grabbed the boomerang that appeared behind her. Riding Kirrara she flew into the swarm, swinging her boomerang around and taking out the demons while Kirrara ripped them apart with her teeth and claws.

Inu-Yasha watched this with satisfaction, then turned his attention to the two-headed snake demon. He looked down at Kagome, who was clutching Shippo fearfully. "Kagome, stay here and stay safe." He said, remarkably calm. "Shippo, guard her." With that he jumped into the fray, beating youkai left and right to get at the serpent, avoiding the mortals as much as possible. Shippo jumped out of Kagome's arms and stood proudly, though somewhat shaking. "Don't worry Kagome, I'll protect you." He said firmly. Kagome smiled.

"I trust in you, Shippo-chan." She said, focusing to bring out a bow and arrow like Sango had taught her too. She stood up, prepared, and fired, the arrow blasting apart some youkai with a strange, rose energy. She watched in awe at what her weapon had done, then was quickly firing again to keep the demons from reaching her and Shippo.

I have to keep Kagome safe, Shippo thought as he blasted one of the minor youkai with some foxfire. He really wished Miroku would allow him to let all of his power out like Sango did with Kirrara, but his task seemed busy right now. Shippo didn't know what was worse; an angel that's controlled too much or an angel that's not controlled enough, like Inu-Yasha. The rosary didn't work on him like it did with other angels because he was only half. At least Kagome's comfortable with using her word, Shippo thought as he shuddered. And thank Kami that his word wasn't part of everyday speech.

Kagome was so busy shooting that she didn't register the strange chill that went up her spine until she heard the all too familiar voice behind her. "Not a bad shot darling. But you're a little off to the right."

Kagome froze, turning around to see the wind demon Kagura smile coldly, the fan raised. "It's so nice that we meet again. I'm sure we have so much to catch up on." Before Kagome could move the demon knocked her against a tree and tied her there with the wind bonds. Shippo, hearing the noise and Kagome's muffled scream, turned around to see Kagura standing there, fan lifted up to finish Kagome off. He squeaked in shock and quickly fired a blast of foxfire. "Leave Kagome alone!"

Kagura felt the kitsune magic hit her on the back and she turned around to glare at the tiny angel. "Brat. Get out of my way." She hissed, knocking Shippo away with a windblast. The fox child flew into the air and hit the ground hard, remaining still afterwards. "Shippo-chan!" Kagome shrieked at his unconscious form. "Shippo-chan, get up!"

"Silence!" Kagura shouted, whipping around to slap Kagome on the face, shutting the girl up. "Not another word." She hissed, then returned to her calm self and, smiling, held up a snake demon that smiled evilly at Kagome. "Do you know what this is?" She asked sweetly, as the snake fixed it's eyes on Kagome and hissed. "It's a youkai that's particularly in tune with angel power, especially angel power as strong as the Shikon no Tama. It's going to find where you're carrying the jewel so I don't have to slice you up into messy little bits to find it." She held the snake closer to Kagome, who struggled to get away from it. She tried to scream to Inu-Yasha but Kagura quickly gagged her with another air bond, also disabling Kagome's breath. 

"Now hold still. This is going to hurt a lot." The wind demon said, as the snake studied the frightened girl before it. Suddenly it opened its mouth, revealing wicked looking fangs, and struck her in the side, biting deep. Kagome tried to scream but she couldn't get the air into her lungs. The pain flashed through her as the snake ripped through her side before finally pulling back, a gleaming rose jewel in its teeth, dripping blood. Kagura smiled and took the jewel, killing the snake demon immediately. "Thank you so much." She said to the barely-conscious girl. "You can die now."

"Kagura!" A rough voice shouted out and Kagura looked up only to be knocked aside. She hissed at her offender and raised her fan, sending blasts of air blades at Kagome's rescuer. He avoided them easily and knocked the other demon into a tree with a well-placed kick. 

"Not so tough now, are you Kagura? Picking on mortal girls. You're pathetic." He sneered with a harsh laugh. 

"I'll kill you!" Kagura shouted, sending wind blade after wind blade to her opponent, who avoided them with ease. "You're getting slower." He taunted, ignoring the few nicks he got here and there. This bitch had the Shikon no Tama, he could smell it on her. And no stupid scratches were going to stop him from taking it. "Now why don't you give me the jewel and be a good little demon and leave me the hell alone?" he asked. 

Seething with anger Kagura quickly boarded her feather and flew away, much to her attacker's disgust. He gave her the finger and kicked some dirt and swearwords in her direction, muttering about her incompetence. He then turned to Kagome, whose bonds just broke, and he quickly caught her. "Hey, you okay?" He asked but she didn't answer as she slumped against him, unconscious. He sniffed and recognized blood, seeing it all over her yukata. He quickly picked her up and began running off. "Don't worry girl, I'll get you somewhere safe." He said, jumping through the melee of the small war being held at the festival, where Miroku and Sango were finishing their work. 

Inu-Yasha was still occupied with battling the two-headed snake as Kagome and her mysterious, demonic savior shot past them and out of the city, into the mountains.

End Chapter 13

Ah, isn't it wonderful? Just one more chapter to go and book 1 is done. Finito! It's wonderful! *waves little fans around*

And special recommendation advertising! *waves fans again* All of you obviously love Inu-Yasha or else you wouldn't be reading this fic. (duh) Well, one of my friends works at a comic shop (called The Comic Book Shoppe) and she gives me free anime all the time! And this weekend I saw one of the best and funniest animes ever: Fruits Basket!

It's a recommendation for any Takahashi fan, even though it's not Takahashi. It's like a strange twist on Ranma ½ and Inu-Yasha, with the original author's own ideas. I won't go through a whole big shmeel about it, so go and find more information about it on your own, but it has a wonderful story, beautiful animation and great characters! My sister and I were having fun pointing out all the characters from Inu-Yasha in it. (Actually, you'll notice that the seiyuu for one of them, Shigure the dog, is also the seiyuu for Miroku. They have the same voice, pronunciation, expressions, everything! It's creepy!) It's a must-see for anyone, not to mention the catchy soundtrack and vibrant colours. Pick it up today!

And that's my advertising break for now. I just finished watching the first DVD of Fruits Basket, so it's no wonder I love it. And you should love it too.

'till next time!

~Ama

("Now as the only youkai in the team it is up to me to protect everyone! I must stand firm, I must stand firm, I must stand – (bushes rustle) KYAAAA!!!! Kagome!"

   -Shippo)


	14. Chapter 14: Wolf

Book one is finished! Everybody dance! *does the 'Book one is finished' dace, Tenshi ni Narumon style* Wheee!

OMG! Do you think that maybe I'm too obvious? Everyone guessed the mysterious savior was Kouga! How do you know it's not… uh…Inu-Yasha's clone?! Yeah, that's it… leave me alone. I'm sick and have had too much sugar. And watched too much Fruits Baskets and looked at too many other animes, such as the aforementioned Tenshi ni Narumon. Now THERE's an anime on 3 pounds of crack.  Anyway, you're all right it is Kouga. So read on, and enjoy the last chapter of Book one! 

Yeah, you're going to notice, for those of you that have seen it, that this chapter and the Kouga episode are really similar, but I couldn't help myself! It's one of my favorite eps, I had to give tribute to it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. 

**Chapter 14: **

**Wolf**

"Dammit." Inu-Yasha growled as he avoided the lashing fangs of the double-headed demon. He had to kill this thing quickly before it got too many mortals involved. He raised Tetsusaiga above his right shoulder and landed skillfully on the roof of a nearby building before swinging his giant sword forward. "Eat this you bastard! Kaze no kizu!" 

The giant blade of wind ripped through the air and hit the serpent dead on, splitting a hole right through its chest. It snarled and spat fire from one of its heads while trying to snap the angel into bits with the other. Inu-Yasha grinned and avoided the snake's clumsier movements with ease, kicking it on the head on his way up. The second head reared up and snapped at him, catching a bit of his kimono and tearing it. Inu-Yasha glanced back at the sound of ripping cloth and growled. He flipped around and landed neatly on a coil of the snake's body, grabbing Tetsusaiga's handle with both hands. 

"You're gonna pay for that you bastard." He snarled, twisting the sword for a definite payback. "Kagome got that outfit for me!" With a snarl he leaped forward and drove the blade deep into the skull of the first head before tearing it forward and ripping the demon's head open. The other head hissed in pain and surprise as Inu-Yasha again leaped up, snapping the sword through the air to get the youki just right. It resulted in a huge explosion, destroying the snake demon completely. It died and vanished before it even hit the ground, leaving behind tatters of the section of the fair it attacked. Inu-Yasha landed among the rubble and snorted, putting his sword back. Anyone watching the scene would have spotted a longhaired, red-clothed figure with an amazing sword flicker slightly into the mortal plane before fazing out again. Many legends of a samurai spirit guarding that section would be spawned from that night and live for a long time.

Inu-Yasha glanced over to where Miroku and Sango were cleaning up the remains of the demons they had killed. He grinned, his fangs gleaming in the firelight as he ran over, excited from the rush he had just gotten over killing something.

"Ha, gottim!" He proclaimed happily, running up to his companions, looking for all the world like a small child who had just won a game. He was almost giddy with the energy it gave him. "Dammit, that felt good!"

"Inu-Yasha?" Sango asked, looking up at the half-angel as he jumped around, retelling his battle to them, not noticing they weren't even paying attention. 

"He used to be a demon exterminator for the angels." Miroku explained, clearing up the excited threeblood's antics to Sango, who nodded with understanding. "I expect that the old adrenaline rush from the job is coming back now."

"Damn I'm good!" Inu-Yasha grinned as he mimicked the final movement of the bakuryua he had pulled on the demon. "Wasn't that great? I have to go see if Kagome saw it!" Before the others could say anything he tore off.

"Is he a guardian angel or a child?" Sango asked as Inu-Yasha excitedly jumped from booth to booth to get to where he had left Kagome. Miroku just smiled and shook his head, while Kirrara transformed to her smaller form and groomed herself down, used the excitable angel's antics.

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha ran forward, looking around for his task. "Kagome, where are you? Kagome!" When the girl didn't answer he began to get worried and a little frantic. "Dammit girl, I don't have time for games! Where the hell are you?"

He landed on the roof where he had left her, sniffing around, ears turning to catch any sound that may be her. He froze when he recognized her blood and was at the tree in a flash, sniffing around. He saw a few spots of her blood and snarled in a panic, looking around. "KAGOME!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. She had been taken away from him, again! He sniffed, recognizing Kagura's scent. Oh, damn that bitch, she was going to pay…

He paused, sniffing still. There was another scent, something he didn't recognize. He kept sniffing, trying to figure it out. It was a demon, he was sure of that. He sniffed harder, trying to figure out the scent that he had when it hit him. He clenched his fists, growling deep in his chest, shaking. Of all the bloody things for Kagome to get herself caught up in…

"Shippo-chan!" He turned around to where Sango and Miroku had found the unconscious young angel and were trying to revive him. Shippo was blinking the proverbial blackness out of his eyes as Inu-Yasha landed and walked calmly up to them.

Sango looked at the half-angel in shock. Just half a moment ago he was bounding around like a young child and now his eyes were hard and burned with determination. She had heard him shouting for Kagome, and the older girl couldn't see her young friend, now that she looked. Sango was beginning to feel panic; Kagome didn't get kidnapped again, did she?

Inu-Yasha knelt beside Shippo, looking strangely calm. The tiny angel rubbed his head, trying to remember what happened, when a fist grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him forward to what was probably one of the most frightening sights he would ever see in his life.

"Where is she?" Inu-Yasha asked in a low voice, his eyes flashing. Shippo gulped, hoping to remember what had happened before Inu-Yasha ripped his head off. Then it came back to him.

"A demon, a demon!" He squeaked frantically, worried both by what he remembered and Inu-Yasha questioning him on Kagome's whereabouts. "A demon came and tied her to a tree and was gonna kill her and I tried to stop her Inu-Yasha I really tried but she hit me and then I don't remembered what happened but I think Kagome's dead and it's all my fault!"

"Shut up." Inu-Yasha said, dropping the kitsune child and standing up. Shippo sniffed but dried his tears and looked up at Inu-Yasha. The half-angel was frozen, ears in a certain direction has he tried to get his bearings. His lip curled in a sneer, revealing a dangerous fang. "She was kidnapped by a wolf demon." He growled. "I don't know if he's working with Naraku or not. Wolf demons have a habit of kidnapping women, so it might be a fluke. Still, I hate wolves! And this one's going to fuckin' die!"

He turned to the group, angry reflecting in his eyes. "Let's go now. The quicker the better and it's going to rain soon and that's gonna screw up the scent." He jumped onto a booth and sniffed, trying to catch the scent. He turned to the others, who were getting on the transformed Kirrara, and nodded, indicating the direction. Then he took off.

"I think trouble follows us everywhere." Miroku noted as Kirrara took to the air after the half-angel. Sango nodded knowingly and glanced back, making sure Shippo was safely between her and the monk.

"This is all my fault." Shippo sniveled. "I wasn't strong enough to protect her and now Kagome's probably dead!" 

"It's alright Shippo-chan." Sango comforted him. "Kagome-chan's a tough girl, she'll be able to take care of herself even with these wolf demons."

"That's provided we get there soon enough." Miroku warned and Sango glared at him. "Of course, Kagome-sama is indeed a strong-willed girl and would be able to fend off those demons single handedly and probably doesn't need our help anyway!" He said quickly. Sango rolled her eyes and turned back to focus on where Inu-Yasha was running.

Dammit girl, where are you? Inu-Yasha thought as he ran through the outskirts of the city, headed towards the mountains. What have you gotten yourself into this time?

Kagome woke up with her eyes closed, trying to register what was going on. Last she remembered she was tied to the tree and Kagura had used that snake… As she remembered the pain flashed violently through her side again. The snake had taken some sort of rose sphere, the Shikon no Tama? Was that inside of her?

She opened her eyes slowly, her whole body feeling heavy. She had fainted some time after that, so she didn't know what had happened. Was she dead, again? Or did Inu-Yasha and the others manage to save her? It felt like she was lying on something soft, and wherever she was it was warm. She sat up, trying to figure out what was going on.

She blinked the heaviness out of her eyes, looking around and supporting herself against the rough wall behind her. She looked around in confusion, trying to locate or make sense of where she was. It looked like a cave with about a hundred of man-sized nooks filled with straw, as well as straw strewed about the center of the cave. She looked around and saw that she was in one of the nooks, maybe the biggest one. 

There were about twenty-odd people in the cave, lounging about and talking amongst themselves. They were a rough looking bunch, wearing what seemed to be animal skins, and there were some large wolves milling around. Kagome could sense demonic auras from both the people and the wolves, although it was a lot fainter then before. Another lance of pain shot through her and she winced.

"Hey girl, you all right?" a voice said beside her and she looked up with shock and a slight bit of hope that it was Inu-Yasha. Instead a black-haired, fur-clad demon looked down at her with narrow blue eyes, studying her. He crouched down so that he could be at her level and studied her side where the snake had bit. He frowned and touched it lightly, causing her to pull away from both fright and pain.

"So it still hurts?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice. She looked at him, unsure what to do. He wasn't going to kill her or something? She swallowed nervously, but didn't say anything.

"Hey Kouga, is she awake?" Another demon shouted from the cave. The blue-eyed demon, presumably Kouga, glanced over to the speaker and snarled. 

"Yes and you're still not eating her!" He snapped. "Hear that? Anyone who touches this woman will answer to me!" The rest of the demons looked a little frightened and went back to whatever it had been they were doing before. Kouga glanced over at Kagome, who was still unsure of whether or not he was a good guy. He studied her carefully. "What was Kagura's business with you?" he asked. 

Kagome just blinked.

Kouga raised an eyebrow. "Can you talk?" he asked. Kagome nodded. He was beginning to look confused, reminding her of Inu-Yasha for a moment. "Then why aren't you talking? Did Kagura do something to you?" Kagome shook her head. The wolf demon looked completely confused now, as well as concerned. "Then why don't you answer? You can't tell me you're scared of this bunch." He jabbed a thumb over at the group of demons, who were doing a rather bad job of trying to look like they weren't listening.

"Hey Kouga, maybe she's scared 'o you!" one said and the rest of them laughed. Kouga shot a glare over at them. "I thought I told the lot of you to SHUT UP!"

The demons clamped down immediately. "Man, Kouga's scary sometimes." One with a spiky hairstyle muttered to his companion, who only nodded. Kouga sneered at them and turned back to Kagome, where he smiled. "Don't pay any attention to them. They're just a bunch of idiotic losers." He shot a meaningful glare at them, daring someone to say something again. No one took the challenge and he seemed content, seating himself down in front of Kagome, who wasn't sure whether she should be scared, confused or both. Kouga held up both hands and tried to look harmless.

"We're not going to hurt you, so don't worry. I'm just curious," he looked thoughtful. "What would Kagura want with a mortal?" He looked at her, blinking. "Although you do look kinda familiar." He paused briefly, then looked at her again. "Don't you have anything to say?"

The questions came out of Kagome all of a sudden, her bout of silent fright over as panic and anger took over. "Where am I?" She shouted. "What do you want from me? Who are you? What's going on? Where's Inu-Yasha? What do you know about Kagura? Wh-"

"Woah, stop!" Kouga looked overwhelmed. "One question at a time. First of all, you're in the wolf clan territory, on the mountains near that mortal city you were in. I brought you here to take care of you after that job Kagura did on you. I'm Kouga; I'm head of this demon wolf clan. I have about just a much of a clue as you do as to what's going on and -" He paused. "Who's Inu-Yasha?"

"Inu-Yasha's my guardian angel." Kagome said. He's going to go crazy looking for me too, she added mentally. Kouga snorted. 

"Feh, angels. Worthless bunch if you ask me." He said. "Inu… Ga, I hate dogs! Trust me girl, you're much better off here. This clan's much stronger then any stupid angel." He grinned proudly, revealing dangerous fangs.  "So you can stay here as long as you like."

"Uh… thanks…" Kagome said uncertainly. 

"Great." Kouga grinned. "I've decided: you'll be my woman."

Kagome froze. "Y-your what?"

Kouga stood up and stretched before looking down at her. "You're pretty and you're tough too, although you don't look it. And you have spirit and I like that in a girl. Besides, I'm much better then some dorky dog angel, aren't I?"

Kagome blinked.

Kouga grinned. "Heh, you're cute. What did you say your name was?"

"I didn't, and it's Kagome."

"Kagome?" Kouga repeated it a few times, getting the feel for it. Then he smiled. "That's a cute name too. Well Kagome, are you hungry?"

"A little, yes." Kagome admitted. Kouga nodded. 

"I'll go get you something then. Oi!" He shouted over to his clan. "A bunch 'o you are coming hunting with me, got it? The rest of you: if anyone touches my woman, we'll be having you for dinner instead! Got it?"

"Yes Kouga!" the clan chorused back and a few of them got up to join the hunting party. Kouga turned back to Kagome, a smirk on his face. "You'll be safe here Kagome, so don't worry. This bunch is stupid, but they're loyal. And they won't hurt you, especially now that you're my woman. I'll be back!" And with that he took off, running unbelievably fast and leaving Kagome blinking.

Kouga of the demon wolf clan, she thought as she leaned against the stonewall. Well, for a demon I suppose he's not that bad. I'd just better get out of here before Inu-Yasha comes and gets the wrong idea and tires to kill everyone. Now that'll make a mess of things. She sighed and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. Inu-Yasha's overly violent and Kouga doesn't seem the type to take no for an answer. At least Kouga was polite, nice, gentlemanly, didn't swear half as much as Inu-Yasha and was rather handsome too, in a rugged sort of way. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be stuck here anyway.

Then she felt a peculiar pick at her neck, like a small insect, and her hand automatically went up to squash the bug. As she removed her hand she gasped in shock. "Myouga-ji-san!" 

"Kagome-sama," Myouga popped himself back to normal. "Are you feeling better?"

Kagome nodded, then looked around to make sure no one saw her suspiciously talking into her hand. "Where's Inu-Yasha and the others?" she whispered as quietly as she could. 

"On their way." Myouga indicated the direction the group was coming from. "They should be here shortly."

"Then I'd better leave now." Kagome said, standing up. Myouga hopped to her neck. "Why so soon?" he asked, with a hint of worry in his voice. Kagome tried to look at him but gave up. "Because if Inu-Yasha and Kouga-kun meet there's going to be a fight, I just know it. Besides, if you're here then I'm not in that much danger, am I?"

"Er, what's that supposed to mean?" Myouga asked and Kagome smiled. "Nothing." She said, moving forward slowly. "Just stay quiet."

"Nee-san!" One of the wolf demons stood up as Kagome walked past him and the girl froze. She looked behind her at him. "Nee-san?" she repeated.

The spiky-haired demon nodded. "You're Kouga's woman, so that makes you our nee-san." He explained. Myouga slapped himself on the forward. "This is wonderful." The flea demon moaned. 

The other demon looked as though he had heard Myouga for a second, but shrugged it off and looked at Kagome curiously. "So nee-san, where are you going?"

"Uh…" Kagome thought quickly. "Just… you know… for a walk." Kami that is so lame, she thought to herself. He is never going to buy that.

"Oh, alright. Just don't go anywhere unsafe, okay?" he said. Kagome blinked, then decided not to tempt fate and she waved, smiled nervously and walked out of the cave as fast as possible. 

"That was a close one." Myouga said, tapping his forehead in relief. 

"Yeah well, we're not out of the woods just yet." Kagome said, walking quickly. The wolf clan cave was behind a waterfall surrounded by rocky walls with only one definite way out and that was to follow the river. Kagome did so, glancing behind her nervously every once in a while, hoping she wouldn't get caught. As soon as she rounded the bend she began running for dear life, trying to find Inu-Yasha's aura and ignoring the pain in her side at the same time. Almost there, she thought as she neared the forest, almost there. 

"Kagome!" She almost fell forward as she heard her named called and she stopped dead to a halt, looking to where the voice had come from. Inu-Yasha was running towards her, followed by Kirrara carrying the rest of the gang. Shippo jumped forward and ran past Inu-Yasha to leap into the girl's arms. 

"Kagome I'm so sorry that I wasn't strong enough to protect you from the demons!" Shippo wailed, crying into her blouse. Kagome smiled and patted the small angel on the head. "It's alright Shippo-chan."

"Dammit girl, can't you spend one day without getting kidnapped?" Kagome glared over to her guardian, who was glaring back. "Hell," he growled, "why of all things did you have to get kidnapped by a wolf? I hate wolves!"

Oh this is just perfect, Kagome thought. Inu-Yasha grabbed her wrist. "Promise me you'll stay out of trouble from now on!"

"Hey dog, get your filthy hands off of my woman!"

Scratch that previous thought, Kagome groaned inwardly. _Now_ it was perfect.

Inu-Yasha and the others looked up to see Kouga standing on a rock, looking angrily back at them. Inu-Yasha turned to face the wolf demon, snarling. "Your _what,_ wolf?" he sputtered. 

"My woman!" Kouga said, jumping down so he could be face to face with the half-angel and matched him snarl-for-snarl. "I don't want any filthy puppy touching my Kagome!"

"In case she didn't tell you, I'm her fuckin' guardian angel you twit!" Inu-Yasha growled back. He stepped back and drew Tetsusaiga but didn't transform it just yet. "Now get out of here or do we have to settle this the hard way?"

Kouga grinned, flexing his claws. "If that's how you want it puppy. But angel or no angel Kagome is still my woman!" With that he dove at Inu-Yasha, who blocked him with Tetsusaiga, quickly transforming it. Kouga jumped out of the way and smirked, running behind Inu-Yasha faster then the eye could follow the kicking the angel's legs out from under him. Inu-Yasha snarled and swung the sword after the nimble demon, who avoided it with ease. "She's not fuckin' yours!" Inu-Yasha snarled, while Kouga just smiled. 

"Kagome-sama, care to explain?" Miroku asked as they watched the wolf and dog fight. Kagome sighed and hung her head in disbelief. 

"Both of you stop it right now!" she shouted but the pair kept fighting.

"Clumsy puppy!" Kouga said, jumping right over Inu-Yasha's head. "You're slow and stupid and you stink of dog. You're not worthy to have Kagome!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Inu-Yasha growled. "You're no better them I am! And stop using her name so familiarly!" He swung Tetsusaiga around, only to growl with frustration when Kouga used it as a springboard.

"Is it just me or is this a fight between love rivals?" Miroku muttered out loud. Sango, Shippo and Kirrara nodded while Kagome kept trying to get the two to stop, not hearing Miroku's comment. 

"I'll speak of Kagome as I wish! She's my woman and I love her!" Kouga shouted, hitting Inu-Yasha on the chest with a back kick, sending the angel flying. Miroku and Sango looked over at Kagome, who looked as though she was about to faint from shock.

"Damn it wolf just shut the hell up!" Inu-Yasha said, hitting Kouga with the flat of his sword and knocking the wind out of the demon. As Kouga slumped to the ground Inu-Yasha transformed his sword and walked up to the wolf, eyes on fire and cracking his knuckles. "You talk big wolf but you're still just a stupid little puppy yourself." He clenched one hand into a fist and raised it. "And this is only what you deserve!"

"Inu-Yasha sit!" 

Kagome ran past her subdued angel to Kouga, who was just catching his breath. "Kouga-kun, are you okay?" she asked as the demon stood up. 

"K-Kouga-_kun_?" Inu-Yasha repeated in disbelief, not even trying to get up. Kouga smiled at Kagome as he coughed and retained his breath. 

"Puppy's stronger then he looks." Kouga said and put a hand on Kagome's shoulder. "Maybe it's best that you go with your angel, Kagome." He said sadly. "After all, it's what you mortals are supposed to do. But come visit me every once in a while and I'll see if I can find you as well. Take good care of her for me, 'k pup?" he asked to Inu-Yasha, who just growled in response. Kouga smirked and turned back to Kagome and took her hands in his own. "Kagome, I look forward to our next meeting. I love you. Goodbye." And with that he ran off, leaving a dust cloud, a shocked Inu-Yasha, confused Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kirrara and a stunned Kagome who just stared at her hands. 

"Kagome?" Inu-Yasha stood up and went over to her task, waving his hands in front of her face. She looked up at him and blinked. "Exactly what happened between you and 'Kouga-kun' while you were gone, hmm?" he asked dryly. 

Kagome looked at him for a second, then frowned and her eyes narrowed. "Exactly what are you presuming, Inu-Yasha?" she asked slowly and dangerously. 

"Uh… er…" Inu-Yasha looked over at his companions for help, but they seemed interested in other things at the moment. He swallowed nervously and looked over at Kagome. 

"I-nu-Ya-sha…. SIT!"

The girl stormed away and led Sango and the others through the forest as they headed back to Kyoto, leaving behind a confused, frustrated and winded half-angel. He sat up and dusted himself off, grumbling to himself before he reluctantly followed the group, wondering why the hell he was with them to begin with.

End Chapter 14

End Book one, Fate's Threads

Hurrah, The story's now a third over! Celebration! 

Wait… that means that soon the story will be finished! That makes Ama sad! *starts crying* But that's okay, my brain is so on overdrive and sugar that I can always come up with other stories. But that's different, because I still have a ton of Guardian Angel to write! So we won't be leaving for a while folks! Yay!

I have so many people to thank! At the end of a book, I should at least give some credits. Shmeck, I'll probably need an entire other chapter for credits alone by the time the story's finished completely. But like I said, that's not happening any time soon.

First of all I'd like to thank my crazy, crazy friends. Tori, who got me on the sugar drugs in the first place and introduced me to what crack-induced anime truly means and who nearly killed me with a hug because I recognized a Fushigi Yugi manga. Yingy, who introduced me to anime in the first place and ruined my innocence in grade 9 by bringing me to a Gundam Wing forum. My first Japanese word ever was 'yaoi'. Yingy was also the fiend who brought me to fanfiction.net.  Sarah, for introducing me to government conspiracies and big mecha and the joys of vampire animes. Thank you giant robots. Krystle, for introducing me to shojo animes or else I probably would have been in the giant robot/gothic horror anime genre for a long time (Not that there's anything wrong with Evangelion or Hellsing. It's just that I also love Gravitation and Love Hina) My sister, for allowing me to corrupt her in the ways of otakudom. And finally, Stephy, for without her I would have never been introduced to nearly any of the animes I love today, and I definitely wouldn't be able to watch them. Without Stephy, I would have never learnt what my nickname, Ama, meant and I would have never seen/read the great anime/mangas of our time and before. I would have never heard of Astro Boy. I wouldn't be the Di Gi Charat fan I am now. Inu-Yasha would just be another on 'never will see' list. I would never know Sesshy, or the word 'bishounens' in the first place. We must thank Stephy for many, many things. And I thank my mom, because she's slowly learning the Japanese words I keep speaking and can actually name everybody in most of the animes my sis and I watch. And she just gave me chocolate.

Now I'd like to thank people you may actually know or care about: youselves! After all, it's the reviewers that make the fic. Thank you everyone!

WarriorGL, link no miko, Trunks Gal and many others of you (I just can't get all the names) have been reading this fic from when I posted it up that cold October evening. Thanks to all of you for being with me and giving me the drive to finish this fic!

v-chan, you drew a fanart of my story? My fanfic has fanart? *faints* That's just too amazing! I wanna see it, I really do! Maybe I'll put it up on my website when I finally figure out how to work the stupid thing ^_^ (my address is ajtabbycat@hotmail.com)

Tsukinoko: *hangs head in shame* yes, I know, Miroku and Shigure don't have the same seiyuu. I found that out just moments after I posted. I feel like such a fool. But it's great there's others out there who have seen Fruits Basket! I get to see the rest of it this weekend! Yay!

Vicious-wolf: ditto on the Fruits Basket pal thing! Yay Haru!

Everybody: I love you all!

…

Man! And this is just book one!

Anyways, I won't waste any more of your time. I'm sure you're all anxious for book two, now aren't you? Happy waiting!

~Ama

("If I had a guardian angel he'd be tall, handsome and a _gentleman_, three things you're not!" –Kagome, upon first meaning Inu-Yasha in Chapter 1. Ah, the memories)


	15. Chapter 15: Purity

Disclaimer: No purchase necessary. See previous chapters for details. 

Yay, continuing on this great and much-loved story is the first chapter of book two! Hurrah! And I got the idea for the second book title from Okomyaki-chan; thanks a bunch!

Christmas is coming up! (for those of you who didn't notice, nice to know you moved off of that planet *cough*Yingy*cough*) Because of this I'm going to be taking up a few days off and everything, maybe write a short little Christmas-y fic induced by too much Vanilla Coke. This doesn't mean anything for Guardian Angel, except maybe a Christmas surprise is Ama's lucky…

Anyway, forward and onwards! Book two!

**Book two:**

**Tears in Heaven******

_There is no good or evil but different choices._

**Chapter 15: **

**Purity**

It was a beautiful day.

The sun was shining brightly in the cloudless sky, illuminating the thin green leaves of the young trees in the forest, giving the world a healthy, mystical glow. Birds sang chirpily, hopping around and picking up insects and seeds to feed themselves and their youngsters, while chattering amongst themselves. Butterflies and dragonflies fluttered about in the forest, resting or feeding on the many flowers that grew on the ground or from the trees, the sun brightening them up to look like living rainbows or airborne jewels. A light breeze filtered through, just enough to cool down the perfect late May weather and rustle the foliage to make a soothing noise. 

It was truly a beautiful day.

Miroku sighed and stretched out, leaning against the smooth trunk of the tree behind him, closing his eye contentedly. As a spirit he could filter out any aggravating sensations, not feel a caterpillar crawl through him, not notice the result of a frightened skunk nearby, not having to worry about the sun shining in his eyes, dirt on his monk's kimono, bird crap, bugs or anything else. He could just sit there and tune himself to merely bask in the sun's glowing warmth. It was great day to be alive. It was an even greater day to be dead. 

"Listen, I said I don't want to talk about it anymore!"

"All I want to know is how come you're always so grumpy and cynical to me and yet you spend five minutes with that wolf brat and he's 'mister perfect'?"

"Maybe he leaves a better impression then you!"

"There was nothing wrong with the way I was talking to you!"

"Really? So to angels saying somebody is stupid is a good way to start of a relationship?"

"I never said you were stupid! And since when did we have a relationship?"

"Not that kind of relationship you moron!"

"Bitch!"

"SIT!"

WHAM! "Fuck!"

Miroku sighed and closed his eyes tighter, hoping he could maybe figure out a way to block sound as well. If there was one thing that could ruin a beautiful day, he thought, it was Inu-Yasha. Knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to get a decent rest with those two hanging around he sat up and looked at the pair of them. Kagome was sitting off under a large oak tree talking to Shippo while the tiny kitsune nibbled on a chocolate bar and would occasionally nod. Inu-Yasha was nowhere to be seen. 

"Kagome-sama?" Kagome looked up as Miroku took a seat beside her. The monk leaned against the oak's trunk and sighed. "Would you know any reason as to why Inu-Yasha is acting so rash?" he asked. Kagome shook her head, fuming.

"I don't know what he's so angry about, Kouga-kun's not that bad. Kouga-kun's actually a nice guy, even though he's full demon and Inu-Yasha's only a quarter." She paused. "Why is that?"

Miroku shrugged. "I suppose there are good demons and evil angels just as there are good and evil humans. I assume though that perhaps Kouga and his clan are more humane then most demons because they've lived here for so long. Of course, that could also be why there are bad angels."

"Have you ever seen a bad angel?" Kagome asked distantly, staring up through the leaves. Shippo swallowed his chocolate and answered the girl's question before his task got to it. 

"I've never seen one Kagome, but there have been tales of them." The small angel said, looking up at her. "Usually they're rogue angels like that Ayeka we saw at the festival, angels that just live on the mortal plane because they like the excitement or something. It's not as common now, but when angels used to live like regular people you could get a lot of corrupt angels and a lot of mixed blood too, like Inu-Yasha. Bad angels usually become so corrupt they turn into demons."

"You really know a lot, don't you?" Kagome asked, tickling the kitsune's tail. Shippo tried to squirm out of her grasp, giggling. "Kagome, stop that! It tickles!" He whined. 

"That's the point, baka!" Kagome smirked, tickling harder. Shippo began squealing and wriggled out of her grasp, scooting over to hide behind his task. "Save me Miroku!"

"Now why should I do that?" Miroku asked, pulling his angel out from behind him and holding him down for Kagome to tickle. 

"That's cheating!" Shippo screamed through his laughter. "Two against one isn't fair, especially when I'm a quarter your size!"

"Tell it to the judge." Miroku said, maintaining his grip. Tears were coming out of Shippo's eyes by now as the little angel tried to free himself from being tickled to death. 

"Help, help!" Shippo squealed and suddenly something grabbed the front of his kimono and pulled him upwards, out of Kagome and Miroku's grasp. He found himself staring into two golden eyes, with a glare in them liable to kill. 

"Inu-Yasha, put Shippo down!" Kagome called up from below the tree. 

"The brat and I are having an angel-to-angel talk, so stay out of it!" Inu-Yasha said, bounding away. Kagome frowned and put her hands on her hips, knowing that her angel was holding Shippo in such a way that if she said 'sit' he would only fall right on the smaller child. She crossed her arms and tried one final yell. "Fine then, I hope you're happy that you just left me alone with Miroku!"

"Kagome-sama, that hurts." Miroku sighed, raising a hand in confusion. As he put it down again a familiar boomerang connected with his skull.

"That's for good reason, Houshi-sama." Sango said, putting her Hirakutsou away. Miroku sighed and looked at both the girls, who were looking at him with annoyed expressions. He held both his hands up to show where they were and that he was harmless and he sat down. 

"Fine, fine, no hard feelings. Now if you two could please sit down…"

They sat down on a tree opposite the monk, so they could face him perfectly and see everything he did. Miroku sighed again.

"No respect."

"Inu-Yasha, where are you taking me?" Shippo squealed as he watched the little forest groove they had been resting in disappear. "If you hurt me I'll tell Kagome!"

"Like hell you will." Inu-Yasha growled, silencing the kitsune. The older angel stopped and landed on an old tree, looking around. "There, this is good." He put the kit down and sat in front of him, arms crossed as he looked at the younger with a stern face. Shippo gulped. 

"Wha-what do you want from me?" He asked, backing up nervously but knowing he could never outrun Inu-Yasha. 

"Is Kagome really that pissed off with me?" Inu-Yasha's question knocked Shippo completely off guard and almost threw the kitsune out of the tree. "What?" he asked, blinking.

"I asked you if Kagome was really that pissed off." Inu-Yasha said, a little more irritable that time. "You seem to get along with her well. Did she say that she was pissed off with me? After all, I'm just concerned for her safety, she didn't have to bitch out and 'sit' me and everything." 

Shippo blinked, not believing his eyes or ears. Is this guy really from my dad's time? He wondered, watching the half-angel sulk moodily. Inu-Yasha glared over at Shippo. "Well?"

"Uh… ah… well…" Shippo thought quickly. "She's not that mad at you, it's just that when you're over protective she gets a little nervous. You're her angel, you should know her better then any of us. To get conversation going try… uh…" Shippo thought carefully. "Try bringing up a topic from her life, like a day she had at the amusement park, or her fifth birthday party or something. Try to relate it to the topic that's going on, or to something that happened, don't bring it up out of the blue or it'll sound rehearsed. And don't pick a memory that might get her depressed or that you found funny but she obviously didn't. Try to be sincere about it. And don't swear as much." He added, backing up a bit more.

Inu-Yasha watched Shippo carefully for a minute, going over everything the kitsune had said. "You know gaki, I didn't understand half of that babble you just spat out, but overall it sounded good. And you're Kinu's brat?" He shook his head in disbelief and picked up Shippo again. "Okay kit, we're going back. And if this shit you gave me doesn't work, it's your head."

"H-hey!" Shippo sputtered from his undignified position of being held by the collar. "It's not my fault if you screw up! Kyaa, don't hurt me!" He curled up into a ball as Inu-Yasha's fist came close to his head. Inu-Yasha smirked before taking off. "Yeah, you're definitely Kinu's brat."

Kagome dug through her bag and pulled out three mochi cakes, which she distributed among the quartet of them. Sango broke off a piece of hers to give to Kirrara before finishing the original piece, while Miroku chose to chew the tidbit slowly. Kagome ate it in three bites and dearly wished it was oden. 

"So what did you see, Sango-chan?" She asked, making conversation as they waited for Inu-Yasha to come back with Shippo. Sango shrugged. 

"Nothing much, a few small mountains like Inu-Yasha said and a really dense forest. I couldn't see anything but Kirrara said that's the definite area where the key is."

Once again Kagome was a bit miffed that she wasn't able to understand the feline's speech, but at least now wasn't alone because of Miroku. "So how long do you think it'll take us to get there?" She asked. Again Sango shrugged, sucking some sugar off of her fingertips. 

"About a day or so walking, since we're in no hurry anyway." She said. "Plus, if there is supposed to be a village around here, walking will make it easier to find rather then trying to spot it through all this dense forest."

"Good point." Kagome agreed, wondering if she should eat Inu-Yasha's portion of the meal and eyeing the bag hungrily. Then her hopes were dashed as the angels in question suddenly jumped down from the trees, and mochi cakes were forgotten as Kagome jumped ten feet into the air and screamed. 

"Kami Inu-Yasha, don't do that!" She said, trying to catch her breath as her guardian angel dropped Shippo on the ground and looked up at her. "Don't do what?" he asked innocently. Kagome threw up her hands in exasperation and sat down again. "Inu-Yasha, you're impossible." She sighed, rubbing her forehead. 

Inu-Yasha grinned and sat down beside her, taking it to his liberty to snatch the mochi cake that lay in the bag nearby. He ate it in one bite and swallowed, trying to think of how to put Shippo's advice to use. 

"Sango-chan says it's about a day's walk from here to your village." Miroku said, bringing up conversation. He immediately received a glare from a harried half-angel. 

"It's not my village, understand bouzo? I lived on the outskirts for about five years out of my four-hundred and whatever year life. That doesn't make it my village." He growled defensively, glancing at the bag to see if there were any more mochi cakes but disappointed to see Shippo eat the last one.

"Really, you lived near here?" Kagome said, trying to change the subject again. Inu-Yasha looked at her and nodded. "Where?" she asked. 

"Uh… a few hours from here actually. Both my parents liked it quiet and it's not like they were bothered much. Of course, I don't expect the house to be there anymore since it's been so long. In fact, I'm surprised it hasn't been industrialized yet." He glanced around dully. 

"Me too." Sango nodded. "Since most of this country is urbanized or used for industry or something. This must be part of a natural reserve."

Inu-Yasha shrugged. "Would make sense, especially if the key was here. Even though you humans are as dumb as bricks, you still have the sense to preserve something you can just unconsciously feel is important. Kind of like why most of ya are obsessed over those rainforests. There's a key buried in there somewhere." He smirked, suddenly receiving a point where he could get Kagome less mad at him. "Oi Kagome, remember your class trip to that indoor zoo?" he asked. 

Kagome giggled, the memory come back. "Yeah, in grade 5. We went to the ecosphere," she explained to her friends. "And one of the girls fell into the monkey when she was trying to feed a spider monkey. The little monkeys all tried to help her but eventually the workers came and saved her. She was having fun though, and was chasing one monkey around and playing tag and everything." She giggled again. 

"Yeah," Inu-Yasha smirked. "The furry idiots were actually smarter and more mature then her class was."

"Hey!" Kagome protested, hitting her guardian on the sleeve. Then she paused and thought about it. "Actually, I suppose that's true." She giggled again. 

"Kagome-chan?" By now Sango was just completely lost, wondering where this sudden topic came from. Miroku looked at his hand oddly, then at the elder, confused girl. "My Sango-chan, what did you put in those mochi cakes?" he asked. Sango blushed. 

"I didn't put anything in them!" she stuttered, staring at the ground. 

"And then Kashinaru-kun started chasing Osinigawa-sensei with that snake!" Kagome added, going down a memory lane that confused all listeners but her guardian. Shippo smiled as he watched the pair, grateful that Inu-Yasha managed to do something right for a change and thus saved the kitsune's skin. Shippo smiled, knowing from the experience he received from his father, plus his natural abilities as a fox, exactly the proper things to do and say when courting; of course he was far too young to understand them so he just made things up on the spot. At least his suggestions were sound and had no 'sits' or 'fox I'm going to bash your head ins' as a result. At least Inu-Yasha took his advice and actually seemed to be getting somewhere. Then Shippo heard the familiar clang of bone-meets-bone as Hiraketsou contacted with Miroku's skull. Shippo sighed. 

Now if only the same applied to his task, then maybe the pervert might get more then an 'eechi' and smack or baf or bang or clang or any other type of otomatepia from girls.  

Naraku had been sitting in his quarters for the good part of the day, studying the small object in from of him. It shone with a faint, rose-colored glow as it sat on the pedestal the demon had made for it. The jewel had been on the pedestal for a good week since Kagura had brought it and The Master hadn't touched it the entire time it had been there. Instead he had been sitting in front of it, bathed in it's pale aura while meditating. The Shikon no Tama had not changed colour since it's first arrival in Hell and still had a slight stain of Kagome's blood on it. 

Kagura watched her master's habits through her elder sister's mirror, confused. Since she had brought the jewel in Naraku hadn't touched it, cast spells on it, nothing. She and Kanna and any other demons weren't allowed near where Naraku was, which only led Kagura to believe that something big was bound to happen. Kanna blackened her mirror, blocking the wind demon's view of The Master. Kagura sighed and sat back, trying to figure out what the hell was really going on. 

"Kagura." Her thoughts were interrupted by Naraku's calling of her name. Quickly she stood up and went over to the door. "Yes Master?" she asked, trying not to sound tired and angry. 

"Come in and don't waste my time." Came Naraku's reply. Kagura stepped in, muttering under her breath. She stood by the door, watching her master as he sat in front of the Shikon no Tama, which still shone, though dully in the depths of Hell.

"Kagura." Naraku said a again, brining the wind demon's attention swiftly to him. "Pick up the jewel."

"Excuse me?" Kagura blinked. Why in the twelve hells was he asking that?

"Just do as I command. I need not tell you my reasons." Naraku said, anger apparent in his voice. He glanced over a series of jars and Kagura followed his gaze, then looked back at him darkly. Taking the hint perfectly well she stepped up to the jewel and reached down. No sooner then her fingertips grazed the glowing sphere did energy crackling from it, stinging her. She quickly brought her hand back and her master chuckled. 

"As I thought," He said, disregarding her presence. "The young Reborn is stronger then I previously thought. Through the years that the Shikon no Tama has resided in her she has become stronger and has purified the jewel so much that even I, Naraku cannot touch it." He though quietly for a moment. "Kagura, I have an errand for you."

"Master?" Kagura asked in confusion.

Naraku did not look at her as he eyed the jewel. "This Naraku is powerful but even a demon as myself cannot touch the purity of this jewel. I will need to weaken it first with the blood of hatred and corrupted souls. Go now and return shortly."

Kagura frowned, glancing back at the pots again before she bowed. "As you wish Master." She said, turning around and leaving through the door and set to exit the castle. 

Naraku allowed himself a slight smile as he stretched one hand towards the Shikon no Tama and let a few, thin strands of miasma drift towards the glowing jewel. As it touched the jewel released sparks, purifying the haze before the small amount of evil could react. Naraku concentrated his evil as he put both hands around the jewel and let the miasma surround it, causing the jewel to shudder as it purified the evil fog, it's glow paling as the smoke slowly enveloped it.

Kagome shuddered involuntarily as the group began to pack up their things to keep moving towards the village by the key. Shippo, who was perched on the girl's shoulder, felt the shudder and looked at Kagome in concern. "Is something wrong Kagome?"

"Just chills." Kagome said, waving it off, but a feeling of dread and cold had formed in the pit of her stomach. She swung her pack over her shoulder and stood up, nodding reassuringly. 

"Come on gang, let's get going!" she said, raising a finger to the sky. "We're going to get to that key and solve this mess up once and for all!"

"That's the spirit Kagome-sama." Miroku smiled, getting up as well. 

"We should be able to reach the village by tomorrow afternoon." Sango said, giving Miroku a warning glare as the monk quickly returned his hands to his sides. Kagome nodded brightly, smiling. 

"Great. Then let's get going!" She said, moving forward.

Inu-Yasha watched her curiously, worry filling him. The only time Kagome ever acted this cheerful was when something was bothering her, and he knew for a fact that ghosts didn't get chills. She had been acting uneasy ever since the festival and though she assured them the wound on her side was from Kagura, she wouldn't say why the wind demon had attacked her or wounded her in the first place. Inu-Yasha only knew that if Kagura was involved it meant Naraku was too, and the half-angel knew he wasn't going to like anything the demon was planning, especially if it involved Kagome.

If he had known the demon's true intentions, he would have gone straight to Hell and hit the ground running. But instead he followed the group he had gotten himself tied up with, keeping an eye on his task and an ear out for demons, vowing to never let Kagome out of his sight again. The girl kept up her game attitude, this time managing to hide the shiver that went through her from even Shippo.

Naraku was smiling. 

End Chapter 15

Another chapter, another step towards my insanity. GAH! English! The most accursed subject of all, even more accursed then math… Maybe I'll move to someplace where they don't need education. Like… uh.. Alaska! (no offence to any Alaskians. I'm Canadian, so I guess there's not much of a difference between us anyway, eh? -_-')

I don't know where Shippo gets his street smarts from, I mean the kid's like what, twenty? That's like six in human years! (spent one class working it out. Oh the sufferable, sufferable English…) I've just created Shippo as the little fountain of knowledge with a fluffy tail. Hee hee, fluffy tail. 

Leave me alone, I'm tired. 

Speaking of otomatepia, (how –do- you spell that anyway?) wouldn't 'behead' be a great one? Think about it: you're reading a comic and.. uh… Batman's running through the tunnels and some badguy's henchmen pop out and a fight ensues: Bif! Pow! Zap! Clang! Wipah! Behead!

Wouldn't that be great?

*notices everyone looking at her oddly and hides in a corner*

Okay… I'm shutting up now…

~Ama


	16. Chapter 16: Ghost

AH! Hecticness! Craziness! I got it up an hour late! *much bowing***** I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!

Thanks to **notanigen, Fate, Tsukinoko** and **ditto** for helping me with onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia! Onomatopoeia! Onomatopoeia!

Disclaimer: I don't own it, never will.

**Chapter 16: **

**Ghost**

Kagome's eyes shone as she looked around the ancient woods, that had been standing around longer then her angel. The oldest trees were covered with moss, vines and flowers while the younger saplings grew around them in a flourish of different green shades. The forest actually seemed to have an aura of it's own, a light, steady thrum that was vibrant and filled with life. It was like walking into a fairy tale land, and with everything she had seen Kagome half expected to see the fairies as well. "This place is so beautiful!" She exclaimed as a few brightly coloured insects flew by. 

"Keh." Came Inu-Yasha's average reply/snort and Kagome decided to ignore him. Shippo leaned out on her shoulder to snatch a flower from a vine as they passed and he held it in front of the young girl. "Here Kagome, a present."

"Oh, thank you Shippo-chan!" Kagome exclaimed, taking the flower and tucking it behind her ear. Inu-Yasha glanced back out of the corner of his eye to see the young fox's antics and he snorted again. 

"This place is where the key is." Shippo said, watching a jewel-like bird flitter from tree to tree. "That's why the ecosystem is so lush because of the key's pure energy. It's no wonder mortals haven't touched this land; this key is one of the strongest I felt. I wonder who the Ghost is."

"The what?" Kagome asked curiously, remembering the word from something Shippo had told her, but it wasn't registering. 

"The keeper of the keys." The tiny fox child elaborated. "Remember? Heaven has Guardians, Hell has Lords and Earth has Ghosts. I told you that night in the hotel."

"That's true, Kagome-chan." Sango agreed. She looked at Shippo and Kirrara. "I'm guessing that the stronger the keeper the stronger the key."

"That's right. That's why the would-be keepers have to train for long years. My pop managed to become a Guardian in less than one-hundred years." Shippo grinned proudly. "He was a really strong one too."

"He was a stupid little whiny fox-brat who babbled to much and just happened to get really, really lucky." Everyone looked up at Inu-Yasha who was growling. "Besides, I helped him out during the tests. If it weren't for me he would have never gotten in. And he wasn't strong, I could beat him up just using my right hand."

"Inu-Yasha, it wouldn't hurt for you to be polite, would it?" Kagome frowned at her guardian, who 'keh'd again. He glanced up at the sky, which wasn't visible through the thick foliage, and shrugged. "Let's just get to the village as fast as possible, alright? It's not safe in these woods at night."

"But if it's around a key, wouldn't it be sa- " Inu-Yasha's glare cut Shippo short and the small child gulped. 

"Who lived here brat: me or you? I think I'd know my homeland better then any of ya. Now move it." He turned around and abruptly walked through the thick curtain of leaves and vines ahead of him. Kagome frowned and followed after. 

"Inu-Yasha, what's gotten into you?" she asked, as her guardian stopped. Sango and Miroku followed, both of them looking around. Inu-Yasha snorted as they looked at the building in front of them. 

Hundreds of years spent in the forest had left it no worse for wear, and the wood the small cabin was built out of didn't seem any more decayed then the shrine at Kagome's home. The woods had grown around it, surrounding the small house with thick trees and covering the building with vines and leaves, giving it a mystical look. Kagome blinked as she studied the building in front of her; something seemed familiar about it, and it seemed that it was giving off a faint aura that was stronger then the aura of the woods. She looked over at her guardian for answers and Inu-Yasha just snorted. 

"Hmph, I thought it'd take longer then this. There used to be a hill here, from what I remember, and not as many trees." He glanced around. "The forest must have grown." He said distantly. 

"Inu-Yasha, this wouldn't be your home, would it?" Sango asked and the half-angel nodded. He walked over and ripped off a curtain of vines to reveal an ancient door with some old Japanese kanji written on it. Curious, everyone went to look and Miroku read the kanji out loud. 

"'The humble home of an angel and warrior and a little devil.'" He read and Inu-Yasha snorted again. "Always did wonder what that meant." The half-angel mused before turning away. "Come on, let's keep going. It's almost dark."

"Oh, was this your home Inu-Yasha?" The dog-eared angel froze as Shippo ran up to the door. And tried to push it open, failing. "It's certainly been around for a long time, hasn't it?" He pushed all it's weight on it, managing to creak it open with a cloud of dust and fallen leaves. The tiny angel tripped and coughed, only to be picked up by an irate Inu-Yasha. 

"Did I ask for your opinion?" He snarled, giving Shippo a good shake. He dropped the kitsune on the ground and turned away, snarling in a voice that gave no option. "We're leaving now."

Miroku picked up his guardian angel and passed the sniffling Shippo over to Kagome. "Inu-Yasha, he was just being curious, there's no nee-"

"Listen monk, do I pry into your life?" Inu-Yasha spun around, his eye glaring.  "No? Then stay out of mine!" He grabbed Kagome's arm and virtually dragged her out of the woods, away from the wood cabin he used to call home. Kagome allowed herself to be pulled along for a moment before completely realizing what was going on and she began to resist her guardian angel's rather forceful tugs. "Inu-Yasha, what has gotten into you?" she asked, trying to get a good grip on the ground but her shock just having her feet pass right through the roots of the trees. There were some disadvantages to being dead. 

Inu-Yasha didn't answer and just pulled her right through the woods (in some cases literally) until they reached the end of a steep side of a depression, forest on one side and mountainous ridges on the other. Inside the bowl in the earth was a quaint, fifteenth century Japanese village of about fifty houses, with rice fields and everything. Kagome blinked at the sight that was no less then wonderful. 

The sun had just begun it's descent into the horizon, spilling a red glow all over the land and illuminating the scene before her in a dazzling effect of green, blue and violet. The rice paddies glowed magnificently in the light, while the trees that dotted the hidden valley were as ancient as the forest, with the rich, bold colour of late spring. The village itself was giving off a beautiful aura of whites and golds and there was a large goshikuba tree that that practically glowed. It made Kagome almost happy for her abilities, even if they had been lessened a bit from the removal of the Shikon no Tama from her body. 

"Inu-Yasha, now hold on a moment!" Sango and Miroku raced out of the forest before they stopped and took in the sight before them. "Woah."

Inu-Yasha studied the village in front of him, looked at the sun and snorted. "Come on, let's keep moving. We're not out of the woods yet… no pun intended." Taking advantage of his otherworldly powers he leaped into the air, taking Kagome with him, and flew through to the depression, obviously tired of running. Sango and Miroku followed on Kirrara as the half-angel made his way to the village. 

Safely in her guardian's arms, Kagome looked down at the village as they flew over, to whatever destination Inu-Yasha had in mind. Children, ghost children, played among the streets with each other and their angels, who differentiated from large to small but all mostly animal like. There were adults in the village too, but most of them had humanoid angels. Kagome studied this with interest as the inhabitants of the ghostly village looked up at their unexpected guests, curious. Shippo noticed Kagome's curiosity and, almost as if he could read her thoughts, answered them for her. 

"Usually angels paired up with their mortals have a basic idea of when they're going to die, so that less experienced or the smaller angels get the children while the more experienced angels get adults. Usually the higher ranking a guardian angel gets, the wider range of death-time they're given. Seventh-task angels don't know when their tasks are going to die while first-task angels usually get mortals who will die before they're matured." Shippo elaborated and Kagome began to wonder if the tiny angel was just a really good guesser or able to read her thoughts. 

"Shippo, that doesn't make sense. Why would you have me then?" Miroku questioned. Sango looked at the monk out of the corner of her eye. 

"I wouldn't call you mature." She said and Shippo nodded while Kagome giggled. Miroku sighed and smiled, waving it off. "I should have expected that." He said. 

"Come on guys, we're here." Inu-Yasha said, landing. A small crowd had gathered, following them from their trek in the sky. The village mostly held children, with a child:adult ratio of about 5:1. They all watched, wide-eyed, as Kirrara landed and unloaded her passengers and as Inu-Yasha put Kagome down in front of the shrine they had stopped at, right in front of the goshikuban tree. 

"Kikyou-sama!" One small boy, no older then six and with bright blue eyes, ran up and hugged a shocked Kagome around the waist. "Kikyou-sama, you came back! I'm so happy! Now you, me and Momiji-kun can all play together again!"

"Uh…" Kagome froze, unable to react, looking at Inu-Yasha for an answer. Other children were whispering, some hoping, some doubting. A slightly panicked wail came from the crowd and a yellow rabbit ran out, jumping onto the child's shoulders. 

"Okoru, it's not Kikyou-sama." The rabbit said, pawing the child's shoulder desperately. "Come on now, Inu-Yasha-sama probably has to see Miko-sama." 

"Not…?" The boy looked at Kagome closely, backing up. An almost terrified look came over his face and he bowed swiftly. "I'm sorry onee-chan!." Quickly he ran back into the crowd, who were all staring at Kagome, whispers filtering through. Kagome looked around, half-scared, and she backed up into Inu-Yasha hoping to get away. 

"Now, now, what's all this?" Everyone's attention was brought up as the entire company looked to the top of the shrine steps where the Ghost stood. She was an ancient woman, bent with age and with a long, white braid and the garb of ancient mikos, rosary beads strewn around her neck. The most stunning and recognizable feature of her was an eyepatch, hiding a terrible wound from her past that had never recovered. Her good eye surveyed the crowd in front of her, coming to rest of the silent group of newcomers and one particularly shocked threeblood. 

"_Baba_?" He jumped up to the steps in pure canine fashion, staring at the old woman like she was something out of a horror movie. "You're the Ghost now? When the hell did this happen?"

"Fifty years ago, thank you very much." The old woman snapped. Inu-Yasha blinked then burst out laughing. 

"Oh, this is great! You! Out of all people! The fucking Ghost! Hah!" He clapped his hands together, obviously finding something amusing about this. He held his breath to stop laughing and looked at the old woman, trying to be serious. Then a smirk came to his face and he chuckled again. "You just can't stay the hell out of my life, can't you?" He snickered, crossing his arms. "Next you're going to tell me you're going to be an angel." The corner of his mouth twitched as he thought of that idea. "Hah! That's fuckin' hilarious!" He laughed again, either completely ignoring or not noticing his stunned audience. 

The old woman muttered something, freezing the half-angel who glanced nervously at the sky. He swore and glared at the old woman, who simply smirked back at him. "That's the problem when you bothering old women who know too much about you. Secrets might get revealed."

"Baba." Inu-Yasha muttered. Then he seemed to remember the rest of his companions and he glanced over at them. "I need a favour."

The Ghost sighed. "Inu-Yasha, you always need a favour. Come back when you're ready to do something for me." She turned around and began walking up the steps. Inu-Yasha panicked. 

"Hey, come on baba, just a few nights! We just need to learn a few things and everything, don't back off now! Kami, you're the stupid Ghost now! You're supposed to be-"

The old woman held up a hand. "I never said you couldn't come." She said simply, glancing behind her. "You may all stay at least the one night you have to. Come all up, there's enough room for everyone." She continued walking up the steps, beckoning that the others follow. With a confused look at Inu-Yasha, Miroku and Sango started up the steps, then Kagome, with a wary glance at the curious villager spirits. She quickly ran up to join her guardian angel, then walked the rest of the way into the shrine, where the Ghost was waiting.

"My name is Kaede." The keeper of the key said, passing around the cups of rice and tea to her guests. Kagome accepted the tea and drank of bit of it, looking around the decorated room. Flowers dotted the walls, along with other artefacts, some recognized, some not. Kagome found one particularly interesting, which looked like an Asian dragon curled around a rose sphere that reminded her of the Shikon no Tama, all carved out of the same quartz-like stone. The Ghost Kaede noticed Kagome's point of interest and answered some of the questions floating in the girl's mind.

"Each of those artefacts represents the keys." She said, gesturing at the walls. "Those twelve over there are the keys of Hell, those fourteen there are the keys of Heaven and these thirteen are the keys of Earth. That particular one, the dragon, is the representation of this key, the ninth." She smiled, then glanced over at Inu-Yasha. "That one there is your uncle's key." She pointed at a wolf-like skull with curling fangs with a strange design on the snout. 

Inu-Yasha looked at Kaede in surprise. "How the hell'd you know that freak was a Lord? I thought nobody from here talked to him and he definitely wouldn't talk to a mortal!" He glanced at the wolf-skull, then back at Kaede.

The Ghost shrugged. "Usually when one becomes a key-keeper one learns the names of al the other keepers." She said, packing another spoonful of rice into her bowl. 

"How did you become a Ghost, Kaede-sama?" Miroku asked carefully, trying to change the subject to lead it away from Inu-Yasha's estranged half-uncle. Kaede also seemed relieved for the subject change.

"The same as demons or angels, a mortal spirit must train for years in the village of a key in order to become a Ghost. That's where most of the adults are here for in this village, although some of their relatives have come to join them just for familiarity. Also, usually, if one has ruled a key long enough, the Ghost can then become an angel, although it hasn't happened to many." She smiled, looking over at Inu-Yasha who was ignoring her.

"So you're going to become a Ghost, Kaede-sama?" Sango asked in interest. Kaede shrugged. 

"We'll see when the time comes." She said, then looked at Kagome. "You should get some rest dear, after what Inu-Yasha has told me. You've had a pretty busy time since you died. The after-life is supposed to be relaxing, and I suggest that you'd spend the rest of it in this ghost village if it weren't for the circumstances." She glanced over at Inu-Yasha again, then back at the young girl. "Demons have been growing increasingly more abundant in the past few years and are terrorizing many communities. Only places around the key, such as this village, are safe. That's why the population of this village, especially among children, has grown so much."

"Keh." Inu-Yasha grinned, showing off his fangs. "I suppose that's the favour you want from us, eh baba?" He fingered Tetsusaiga, and Sango and Miroku remembered his exterminator roots. 

Kaede didn't seem impressed. "You're just as impulsive as your father Inu-Yasha, and you best be careful you don't share his fate." She said, ignoring the frown on the half-angel's face. "I'd prefer if you didn't go around and kill all the demons just for the hell of it, instead I suggest you go at the source of the problem." 

She glanced outside, then turned to the group. "However, I'm sure the discussion can wait. You all need some rest and we can talk about this tomorrow morning." She stood up and cleared the room. "You're beds are in the other room. Girls in one, boys in the other houshi-sama." She said pointedly at Miroku, who gulped. Sango and Kagome smiled. 

"She seems to have you down to a 't' Miroku!" Kagome said, patting the downcast monk on the back. Miroku sighed. "Am I really that readable?" He wondered aloud. Shippo sighed and shook his head. 

"You are when you keep grabbing Sango's butt during dinner."

Kagome woke up halfway through the night to the sound of banging on the roof. She glanced over at Sango and Kirrara, who were blissfully fast asleep, before glancing up at the roof again, where the noises had gone silent. She could sense an aura, but it wasn't demonic or angelic, but it wasn't really mortal either. It felt mostly mortal, but had some other feelings to it as well, like they were all mixed together. Confused, Kagome slowly and quietly got up and went to the window to look outside. 

Outside was a beautiful, calm, starlight-night that bathed the village in a dim, slivery light. The moon had disappeared from the sky in it's new phase, leaving a gap in the midnight heavens. Kagome leaned out of the window, looking left and right in the silent town for signs of the mysterious guest, but she couldn't see anything. Then a familiar flicker of aura caught her attention and she looked over to see that ever so recognizable red kimono disappear into the forest. Curious, Kagome jumped and ran off after her guardian.

She came to the woods, slowing down a little when she remembered what Inu-Yasha said about it being dangerous. She could hear her guardian swear something to himself and she quickly floated a few feet in the air so that she could move a lot more quietly. Inu-Yasha's aura felt… different somehow but she wasn't sure why. 

She floated over to where her guardian's voice and feel was coming from, recognizing the area where his house stood. So that's where he was! She smiled softly to herself; it must be has hard for him to go home as it was for her. At least her family was still alive, she didn't have to return to a silent, dusty building that held distant memories. 

She peeked around a tree to the house, expecting to see her guardian muttering or swearing or something like that. Instead she saw nothing but the wooden house, sitting in the dark forest. She wondered if maybe Inu-Yasha had vanished back to the village and now she was alone in the woods, where god knows what lurked. She backed up nervously, then bumped into something warm and definitely alive behind her. She shrieked and turned around, slapping the intruder with all her might.

Inu-Yasha blinked, rubbing the red mark on his cheek as Kagome stared at him in shock. The half-angel rolled his eyes and looked at his task sternly. "Kagome, what are you doing here so late at night? It's dangerous." 

She just blinked.

Inu-Yasha sighed and looked his task straight in the eye. "Go back to bed." He ordered. 

Kagome didn't listen to him but instead reached a hand up to pat the top of her guardian angel's head. She ran a hand through his hair, then realized what she was doing and pulled it back. She looked at her guardian questioningly. 

Suddenly Inu-Yasha understood and ran a hand through his hair of his own nervousness. "Uh… well I… well… keh." He turned around, his once silvery hair now invisible in the darkness, blending in with it's own black colour. "I guess I should have seen this coming. You have a knack for getting into trouble and finding out things I don't want found out."

"I-Inu-Yasha?" Kagome asked. Her guardian sat down and leaned against a tree, closing his eyes. 

"You see Kagome, I have this little blood problem." He said, trying to explain it clearly. Kagome sat down beside him and patted the top of his head again, not used to the lack of doggy-ears. Inu-Yasha sighed. "Because I'm a threeblood that means I have human blood in me. And human blood is pretty weak magically. One thing is, the phases of the moon also effect the magical blood; so angelic and demonic blood are strongest on a full moon. At the same time though, they're weakest at the new moon. So on the nights of the new moon my magical blood dwindles away, leaving my human blood to take over." He ran a hand through his black hair and fingered one of his human ears. "So this happens."

"But you'll go back to normal in the morning?" Kagome asked and her guardian nodded. "So that's why you were so anxious to get to the village before nightfall."

Inu-Yasha winced. "Yeah, pretty much. It's not a good thing if many people know about it. I want as little to know as possible. In fact, you and baba are the only ones that do know."

Kagome leaned slightly against him, sleep overtaking her again now the excitement was over. "Why did you have to keep it a secret from me?"

Inu-Yasha shifted uncomfortably as his task drifted off into dreamland. "I was going to tell you… eventually…" He said quietly. 

"Hmm…" Kagome said, as the comfortable blackness slowly overtook her. "Inu-Yasha?"

"Eh?"

"Will you protect me forever?" She wondered aloud, her voice heavy with fatigue. Inu-Yasha stiffened at the question. "I mean… Kaede doesn't have her guardian with her anymore… it went away. Will you go away too?"

Inu-Yasha watched his task as she fell asleep, leaning against him and breathing softly. He pulled her closer, his eyes on the old house where he and his parents used to live. Kagome reminded him so much of his mother, caring, soft, loving. He smiled, ever so slightly; one of the first real smiles he had had for a long time. 

"Always and forever." He promised softly into the night. 

End chapter 16

Sorry it's so late! Ah! Enjoy the next chappie on Monday! I gotta go! *runs away from it all, screaming*

~Ama


	17. Chapter 17: Rebirth

Ah, it's almost Christmas! And I get to see Lord of the Rings on Friday! Woot!

Reviewers thankies: **Ditto:** Thanks. I suck a grammar. A lot. I'll try to keep the 'than' 'then' rule about (I try, I really do!) **Nariko:** Ama's 'grandma' in Chinese? Dude. It means 'female scuba diver' in Japanese, but these days it's more commonly known as 'bitch' (I didn't know that until –after- I got the nickname. Funny, eh?) **Aneres G. Galaxy:** Uh, Kouga didn't give up, he's coming back rather soon actually. I just needed to get rid of him fast. And Kagome's dead, while Hojo's alive. That just wouldn't work well… (and I don't think he has something to help with that either) **unknown** Hey, somebody else liked the 'it was an even greater day to be dead' line! It's my favourite and no one else commented on it! *cries* Thank you, wherever you are! **Catleya:** Don't get overweight on my account! Nooo! Now the news is going to kill you! (see below, after chappie)

Thank you everyone for reviewing again! Here's hoping for 300 before chapter 20! (like that'll ever happen)

Disclaimer: boo.

**Chapter 17:**

** Rebirth**

"Kagura, do you know what the Shikon no Tama is?"

Kagura looked at her master curiously, then at the dimly glowing sphere. "It has the ability to increase a demon, angel's or spirit's power." She stated simply, wondering where the pop-quiz had come from.

Naraku didn't move as his eyes glanced up to his underling before returning to the object of power in front of him. "Yes Kagura, that's quite correct. But do you know what it _is_?" 

Kagura opened her mouth then closed it again. She studied the Shikon no Tama inquisitively, curious to just what Naraku was getting at.  The ball seemed normal, for a glowing rose sphere that came out of a dead girl's ghost body and had the power to create life. There didn't seem to be anything abnormal or that should be known about it. Dumbfounded, she shook her head.

Naraku seemed almost pleased at this, as if he enjoyed being the one with information. "This jewel is a combination of good, evil and neutrality. It contains all the powers of all the keys, from Heaven, Earth and Hell. That is why it can amplify the power of whoever posses it." He spoke as if teaching a small child, or a very slow disciple. "Do you know who created it?"

Kagura was beginning to get tired of this and kept her mouth firmly shut, knowing full well that if she said anything it would just be giving Naraku a reason to torture her. So instead she kept her silence and waited for Naraku to answer his own question. 

The powerful demon outcast couldn't help but have a small smile hover above his lips. "The one who created it was I, Naraku."

"Wha-?" Kagura blinked, trying hard not to look shocked. It was just the reaction her master wanted.

"It has been purified over the years, but is was originally I that created it." Naraku continued, as if not even caring that she were there or not. "After the beginning though, the hanyou and his pathetic group managed to get their hands on it, while weakening me. Then they made their futile mistake and rested, believing this Naraku dead. That was when I took the jewel for my own, but it had been purified by the angel. I was too weak to fully corrupt it, but I used my powers as I could." His eyes narrowed, never leave the object of his discussion. "They managed to destroy this Naraku but I hid my essence inside the jewel that had created from this demon. Years later I regained my strength and possessed the threeblood to kill the angel which held the Shikon and taint it with the blood of hate. However it was lost, until now when it was reborn with the girl." He glanced over at Kagura. "But you knew that already, didn't you?"

Kagura only nodded, wondering why she had never known this before. Naraku returned his gaze to the glowing ball that held unlimited power. "That girl is stronger then previously thought; she has purified the jewel beyond all my powers. That is why I have you collect souls Kagura, to taint the jewel until I can use it again."

Kagura raised an eyebrow. "Does this mean that I have to go and collect more souls, Master?" She asked, wondering how many more graves she'd have to rob. She took a step back, preparing to leave. 

"No."

"Eh?" Kagura paused, looking at her master in confusion. Naraku didn't move for a moment, then he spoke. 

"I have a suitable amount of souls for the process." The Master said simply. "This was merely a lesson, Kagura." He raised a hand over to the jewel, which glowed in response, it's shine much more sickly then before. "To show you my power."

Kagura stiffened, but said nothing. When Naraku didn't say anything more she turned and left the room as quickly as possible, closing the door swiftly behind her. Naraku didn't move from this abrupt exit for a another few minutes, before the powerful demon took one of the many souls Kagura had brought him and he began to pour it over the slight bloodstain that still tainted the jewel. 

"Kagome-chan? You alright?" Sango looked at her friend in concern as Kagome wobbled a bit and put a hand on a wall to balance herself. Kagome blinked and shook her head to clear it before looking up at her friend to smile. 

""I'm fine Sango-chan, don't worry about me." She said, waving her hand. She then turned to the group of children in front of her. "Now what were we doing again? Oh right, I remember!" She smiled. "We were learning to do chores!"

"To fly!" The group of children corrected her in a chorus, earning giggles from the two older girls. 

"Alright, alright, we'll learn to fly first." Sango said. "Then we'll do chores!"

"No~o!"

Kagome looked over at Sango with sadness, nodding her head to indicate the children. "It looks like they don't want to do chores."

Sango frowned and shook her head. "That's too bad. You can't become a Ghost if you can't do chores, and you definitely can't fly. This could cause some problems." She thought about it for a minute. "Hey, maybe we should teach Houshi-sama and Inu-Yasha instead!"

"No, no, no!" The children clamoured. "Teach us, teach us! They can do the chores! We wanna fly!"

"Besides, Inu-Yasha's an angel, so he can't be a ghost anyway." One child pointed out. 

"Yeah, and they both know how to fly!" the ruckus started anew as the children tried to tell their 'teachers' why they should be able to fly, their words getting lost in the melee. Kagome looked over at Sango helplessly and they both began laughing. 

Shippo, who was watching them from the roof with Kirrara and most of the children's angels, hopped down to sit on Kagome's shoulder. "You're doing it all wrong." He said, waving a tiny hand and coughing to get the children's attention. 

"Listen up kids!" He said, standing completely still like a soldier. "This is how it's going to work! Chores and flying go hand in hand and you can't learn one unless you do the other! It's like watching TV after dinner: you can't do it unless the dishes are done! Do you understand?"

In the silence that followed both Sango and Kagome looked at Shippo with awe; they'd never expect this tiny tot to know how to control children who were actually bigger then him. 

"Oh, he's so cute!"

Well, control them for a half a minute at least. 

"Kagome!" Shippo ran wailing away from the group of kids who all wanted to play with this new angel, especially when he looked just like them except for the tail. A few adult heads were turned as the stampede ran past them, then the adults looked over at the pair of girls who were supposed to be teaching the ruffians the basics of ghost-life and the possibility of become a key keeper. Aware of this attention Sango and Kagome smiled nervously and waved, then decided to go and recruit their students before even more hell broke loose. 

Inu-Yasha watched his task run through the village streets after the kids, who were in turn after Shippo (who had also just used his magic to transform into about ten other Shippos, and the real one was hiding behind a tree while the children split to chase after the decoys, causing even more a problem for Kagome and Sango). The half-angel snorted and went back to his work of sharpening Tetsusaiga and guarding the village. His ears flickered backward as Miroku came up behind him and sat down beside the slightly annoyed angel. 

"They look so energetic." Miroku smiled, indicating the girls, who were now in a frenzy while trying to round up all the children. 

"They're idiots and it's the brat's fault." Inu-Yasha said, focusing on an annoying nick he had gotten in his blade from the last demon them fought. He frowned and scratched at it with a claw, before snorting and working on the whole item again.

"Inu-Yasha, I'd have thought you'd be happy here." Miroku said in mock surprise. His un-amused companion shot him a death glare.  "I mean, this is paradise. We've been here for a week or more and look at the life we lead: you and I kill demons while our lovely female companions tutor the children and help with the chores."

Inu-Yasha snorted. "Face it bouzo, you're just as pissed as I am for being stuck here."

Miroku sighed and watched as Kagome tried to coax Shippo out of the tree. "Well, I must admit the company here isn't always pleasant and while the scenery is beautiful it's not the nicest place to live. But still, Kaede-sama made it clear that we're not to leave until it's been figured out just what Naraku has planned and what Kagome has to do with it, besides…" He trailed off, not wanting to get into the subject. 

Inu-Yasha was also watching Kagome and Shippo now, as the girl tried to pry Shippo off the branch, to no avail, while the children around her thought it was some kind of new game. He glanced over at Miroku and had to smirk at least. "You're just sore because the only girls close to your age are Kagome and Sango, baba made you sleep outside, which was your fault by the way, and the only time we can leave the barrier baba put up is when we're off exterminating and you can't go look at girls then."

Miroku said nothing for a moment, then lay down on the roof of the shrine. "You're beginning to sound like Kagome."

"What? Am not!" Inu-Yasha jumped, then glared at the dead monk. "Take that back bouzo or I'll make sure you're never gonna get acquainted with a girl, if you know what I mean." He raised his sword menacingly. Miroku looked unfazed, but sat up anyway. Inu-Yasha 'keh'd and turned back, sharpening his sword still and keeping an eye on his task. 

Kagome had managed to pull Shippo down from the tree and was now teaching her pupils again, along with Sango. The two girls had volunteered to teach the children, who were both there to learn how to be a Ghost and to find shelter from the hordes of demons that were slowly and discreetly ravaging the world, which Inu-Yasha and Miroku had taken upon themselves to exterminate. The children were all sitting in a semi-circle now, listening as Kagome and Sango talked to them about the ways of spirit life and informed them of all the pros and cons and what was expected of them. 

Inu-Yasha slowly stopped sharpening his sword to focus all of his attention on Kagome. Ever since that new-moon night near his old home he's felt… closer to her somehow. He knew he would have to kill Naraku like his father before him eventually, but if he were to be stuck here with Kagome for eternity he wouldn't mind. He just liked watching her now, as she laughed and tried to act strict to the group of excited ghost children, filled with life even in death. The way her voice sounded, even from this far away, the way her hair flowed in the wind, even the way she smelled he thought happily, remembering that sweet, wonderful scent. How was it that he had known her all her life and was just now actually getting to know her?

Miroku looked from Inu-Yasha to Kagome to Inu-Yasha to Kagome and back to Inu-Yasha again before smiling. The monk was no fool, especially in the ways of women, and he could definitely see puppy love blossoming here. And it didn't take an idiot to see that Kagome liked Inu-Yasha back (and obviously Inu-Yasha hasn't noticed yet). Miroku sighed and watched the girls play with the children, his eyes particularly on one spot. If only Sango and her wonderful body would look at him like Kagome looked at Inu-Yasha. Then again, for all he knew she might; his eyes were always on other parts of her anatomy. 

The sun shone brightly on them, filling the late spring afternoon with a pleasant warmth. In fact, it was getting rather warm and Kagome stopped to sit under the shade for a second. Sango looked at her in worry. 

"Kagome-chan, are you alright?" Sango asked, worried that she had to ask it for the second time that day. Kagome smiled weakly and nodded. "I'll be fine Sango-chan, it's just the sun's getting to me."

Sango frowned, knowing her friend was lying through her teeth. Something was up and the older girl was going to find out what. Then she smiled. "Silly, we're ghosts. Just filter out the sunlight if it's bothering you."

"Yeah Kagome-nee-san, you're supposed to know this stuff!" The children chorused. Kagome gave them another weak smile and a nod before leaning against the tree and closing her eyes. The world was starting to spin and a heavy beat was beginning to pound in her ears.

Sango's smile died instantly. "Kagome-chan? What's the matter?"

"Kagome?" Shippo asked worriedly, looking at the young girl who was looking quite pale and beginning to breath heavily. Shippo's tail quivered as he watched Kagome in fear. "Kagome?"

"Oh shit." Inu-Yasha stood up, noticing that something was very, very wrong over there. Miroku was up in an instant too, looking over. "What is it Inu-Yasha?" The monk asked, worried by what he was seeing. 

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha tore across the rooftops over to the tree where Kagome and group was, just to watch his task collapse to the ground in a dead faint. "Kagome? Kagome!"

Rin looked up abruptly from the picture she was colouring to look over at the demon Lord that sat beside her. He too had looked up from his work, staring at the window with intensity, a thoughtful look on his delicate features. The undead spirit girl stood up to stand beside her appointed guardian and look out the window, curiosity written all over her. "Sesshoumaru-sama?" She looked up at the elegant Lord in confusion. "What is it?"

Sesshoumaru's pointed ears gave a slight twitch, in semblance to his quarter-nephew, before he looked down at the young girl. He smiled slightly, although his auburn eyes were still hard with concern. He patted the girl on the head. "It's alright Rin." He said. "Jaken." He said more abruptly. 

The toad demon snapped to attention and looked raptly over at the Fourth Lord. "Y-yes Sesshoumaru-sama!"

Sesshoumaru regarded his servant coldly before standing up and moving over to the window to look out over his terrain. "Jaken, I am going to the mortal world and I am taking Rin with me."

Jaken blinked his large eyes in astonishment before glaring at the innocent young child, who looked ecstatic about going back to her home. "B-but Sesshoumaru-sama…" the toad demon started. 

"Can we bring Ah and Un?" Rin interrupted excitedly. Sesshoumaru said nothing but looked over at his underling. 

"Jaken, survey Sesshoumaru's land while I am away." He said coldly. "Something is happening, something that I believe has to do with both that cretin and my nephew." He began to leave the room before Jaken's protests made him pause. 

"Sesshoumaru-sama? You surely don't think that Inu-Yasha has anything to do with this, do you?" He blurted, eyes flashing. "That threeblood is useless!"

Sesshoumaru made no movement before he exited the room. "It is not my nephew I feel concern for. It is the girl with him, the Reborn." With a flourish he left the room, leaving it feeling slightly warmer after his cold presence.

Jaken blinked and began to stutter some more. 

"Wait up Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin ran through the door after the Fourth Lord, leaving Jaken even more speechless. "Whassa Reborn?" The lesser demon heard the girl asked. He did not hear Sesshoumaru's answer, if the Lord had bothered to answer at all. The toad pouted and leaned against his staff. 

"Stupid mortal, Sesshoumaru-sama always ignores me now." He muttered darkly, prodding the image the young Rin had been colouring. He knew better than to destroy it; that would just be suicide. Jaken sighed, then froze. 

So that was what Sesshoumaru-sama had meant. Quickly the lesser demon waddled over to the window and looked out to where the strange sense was coming from. Something big was happening and he was here to face it! Oh sure, he had the entire army of Sesshoumaru-sama's land, but still!

"Why, Sesshoumaru-sama, do you always leave this stuff to me?" He wailed. 

Inu-Yasha watched as Kaede put the cloth over Kagome's forehead and began covering the shivering girl with another blanket. The half-angel fidgeted, nervous and anxious, as he watched Sango put another warmed bandage on the girl's side. Kagome's condition had considerably worsened since she had fainted and now she was definitely pale and shivering, yet her temperature was still rising. Even worse, the wound in her side had begun to bleed again. 

"Well baba? What's wrong with her?" Inu-Yasha snapped, looking worriedly at his ill task and impatiently at the Ghost. Kaede shook her head. "I'm not sure."

"Kagome-sama seems to have come down with some kind of a fever." Miroku observed, speaking slowly as he tried to make sense of it. "But spirits shouldn't get ill. So what could it be then?" Everyone looked at Kagome, who seemed in a lot of pain, worry on their faces. Shippo walked up and put a hand on the girl's arm. 

"Kagome, don't die on us, okay?" He asked. "Please come back. Kya!"

Inu-Yasha growled at the little fox the hung in the air before him, courtesy of the half-angel's claws digging into his kimono. "Don't say something like that again fox or you'll be the one dying." He dropped Shippo again and disappeared outside, where he was obviously going to sulk. 

Sango looked over at Kagome and sighed. "At times like this Kagome-chan would say 'sit', or something to that extent." She said, fixing the girl's blankets. Miroku nodded. 

"And then Inu-Yasha would swear and curse at her and she would argue back and then the two of them could get into a fight which would result in more 'sits' and then Kagome-sama would storm away." The monk said, looking at the pale girl with concern. "Kaede-sama, do you have any idea what may be causing this?"

Kaede looked at the unconscious Kagome, worry on her thoughtful face. Shippo looked at her worriedly, whimpering. "Kagome's not going to die, is she?" He asked. Kaede shook her head. 

"No, I'm not entirely sure what is happening but I'm fairly certain she won't die. But still, this fever to come so quickly, and this wound… done by a minion of Naraku you say?"

Sango nodded. "A wind demon named Kagura."

"Kagura…" Kaede said, with some familiarity. Already, just by the fact that Kagome was a Reborn, of the Guardian Kikyou no less, was the ancient Ghost beginning to worry. There was a definite possibility the Shikon no Tama could be involved in this, despite the rumours of it having disappeared. And the wound was just the right spot too…

"I pray she gets better." Kaede said simply, shaking her head. "And until we can figure out just what's going on, I'm afraid that's all we can do."

Kagura watched Naraku closely through Kanna's mirror, curious. The Master had been in his room for a few good hours now, doing some strange and complicated ritual with the Shikon no Tama. At first the jewel had purified everything the powerful demon had used on it, but now it was obvious that the jewel's purity had weakened. It was now looking darker, and the bloodstain on it was glowing brilliantly. Naraku was barely paying attention to it now, working on something that was obscured from Kanna and Kagura's view. It looked as if he had been moulding something, but what? The wind demon was mystified and although many guesses popped into her head, none of them seemed right. 

Kanna closed her mirror suddenly, having her younger sister look at her angrily. Kanna looked back at Kagura cooling, never blinking, with that same placid stare as always, which gave Kagura the creeps. "We cannot watch for too long. The Master will call us when he's ready." Kanna said slowly and deliberately. Kagura frowned, but knew she couldn't argue. Instead and walked over to the door to Naraku's room and leaned against the wall beside it, sighing. She hated this life, it was so boring and stupid and demeaning. 

"Is there something you want Kagura?" Naraku's voice floated through the door, startling his underling. Kagura gulped. "I'm curious as to what you're doing… master."

She could almost feel Naraku's smirk in the air, as she herself scowled. Why did she have to suffer like this? "You can come and see, if you wish." Naraku said, almost mockingly. Not to be laughed at, Kagura turned around and opened the door, walking into the room. It was completely black, save the light from the Shikon no Tama, and she could barely see what The Master was working on. Squinting she moved into the dim light, trying to see what had had Naraku so engrossed from the past hours. 

She gasped and took a step back. Having been around since the original Naraku she could recognize anyone from the past, and a face like this one doesn't forget, especially after seeing it mirrored so recently. She knew Naraku was crazy, but this… 

Naraku smirked, seeing the shock on Kagura's face. "It's not that impossible, Kagura." He said, pouring another damned soul into the concoction. Kagura looked from the body to her master and back, wide-eyed. "Master, is this wise?"

"Of course it is." Naraku said, not looking at his minion and focusing on his work. "I am not foolish enough to bring her soul back along with her body. I plan to revive her with just enough power to manipulate the jewel as I wish; this Naraku is no fool."

"But… but…" Kagura was completely at loss for words. 

"Kagura, fetch me that jar over there and then leave this room. I, Naraku, need silence to complete my work." Not even noticing or caring that Kagura did the deed as quickly as possible and nearly ran out of there, Naraku glanced over at the Shikon no Tama and couldn't help feeling pleased with himself. Everything he desired would soon be his, as soon as his task was complete. Then he would be the most powerful being in existence, and would rule as god. "You are the Guardian Kikyou, keeper of the Shikon no Tama, a Reborn soul." He said to the body as he worked on the final pieces of the spell. "And soon you will be under this Naraku's command. Then we shall see what that threeblood can do." 

Deep in the ancient castle, in the belly of a long dead volcano, in the darkest, dankest corner of the pits of Hell, startling demons, altering the Fourth Lord Sesshoumaru and his minion Jaken, worrying the angels, frightening unknowing mortals and causing the ill, unconscious Kagome to shiver in her sleep, Naraku began to laugh.

End Chapter 17

Whee! Chapter 17's done!

*Important News: I have stress. A lot of it. And although I've been trying to juggle school, job-hunting, this fanfic and the other millions of little things I do (and Christmas shopping hasn't made it easier) I just can't do it. Before you panic, I'll still be doing Guardian Angel! It's just that instead of every Monday and Wednesday, now I'll just post a chappie every Monday. That's better than month-long pauses in between chapters, isn't it? ^_^ (maybe if I get 300 before chap 20, I'll be really, really nice…)

So that's my important news! Thanks to all of you, love you all!

See ya Monday and happy last-week-of-school! (all of you who got off early: I don't want to hear it)

~Ama


	18. Chapter 18: Memories

Hey guys! Sorry it's late, even with just once a week it's still hard to keep up. But I'm ever diligent!

Reviewer thanks: **jenn_chan** Yes, school sucks donkey. And now that I'm getting a job, school's going to suck even more donkey. But at least I have all of you to help me through it! **link no miko** Ama apparently means a lot of things. And the triangle has to be there but I'll try not to make Kikyou as annoying. She's really bitchy though, but that's just how her character turned out in my story. (and that site's neat! Thanks!) **Trunks Gal** Yay! Fourteen! I was fourteen once.. was it really that long ago? And now I can drive! Woot! **Naru-chan** Yay, oxymorons about dead people! I don't even try half of them, they just pop out! And technically people die twice: once brings them to the spirit realm and twice destroys their soul, so dying the second time is baaaad ** BJ** Thanks! And.. uh.. I'm working on the doujinshi **okonomiyaki-chan** lay off the drugs

Disclaimer: Have yourself a happy (I don't own Inu-Yasha) holidays!

**Chapter 18: **

**Memories**

A lone shadow watched the ghostly village from above, the faint moonlight from the sliver barely illuminating his figure. Soulless blue eyes surveyed the small spiritual dwelling, his sharp ears picking up the ruckus. With a derisive snort the figure turned and ran into the mountains, already a plan forming in his mind. 

"Inu-Yasha, you should get some rest."

The half-angel looked up at Sango, then back at Kagome's unconscious form. "I'm her guardian. I have to stay here until I know what's going on." He said stubbornly. Sango shook her head sadly. 

"Even if we did know what it was, there might not be anything we can do." She told him. "I'm worried about Kagome-chan too, but if it really is Naraku then we're going to have to figure out some way to beat it. And staying up until you're sick as she is isn't going to help." She leaned against the doorframe. "Get some sleep."

Inu-Yasha twitched an ear in irritation before leaning against the wall and closing his eyes. "There. Better?" He said in a tone that indicated he didn't want to be bothered again.

Sango rolled her eyes and couldn't help but smile slightly. "You're impossible. Fine, be that way." She turned around and went to her own quarters, closing the door quietly behind her. "And don't try anything either."

"Keh. What do I look like, Miroku?" Inu-Yasha muttered, but only silence answered him. The angel opened his eyes again and focused his attention to his task, watching her sleep uneasily. Although her breathing had become steady she was still bleeding and felt unearthly cold, even for a spirit. She had begun to fade as well, looking less… there more then anything. In his position as a guardian angel Inu-Yasha had never seen his task die for the second time, which was quite a feat. He had, however, seen spirits die again and fading was one of the big signs. He growled under his breath; as soon as it was possible he was going to go straight to Hell and was going to finish the job his father started. 

"Being ill-tempered isn't going to solve anything." Another voice said and Inu-Yasha grunted, not removing his gaze from Kagome to acknowledge the visitor. Kaede sat on the other side of the unconscious girl and reapplied the water on Kagome's dressings. Inu-Yasha watched her placidly before speaking up in a low voice. 

"Well baba, anything?" He asked. Kaede continued her work silently for a moment then turned to the half-angel. She looked older then her actual age, no older then seventy when she died, watching Inu-Yasha sadly and knowing that if she told him the truth there would be no hope for his or Kagome's survival. She tried to calm him down instead and perhaps have him look at the situation more maturely. 

"I've warned you about what you may get yourself into Inu-Yasha. I've been around since your father's time and I was forced to be one of those who was to bury him." She put a hand on Kagome's forehead as the feverish girl began to shiver lightly. "Just because I am dead now does not mean I want to repeat the process to his son. If it is Naraku you have no hope of defeating him now, especially if you go chasing after him in Hell. And this village is small and full of children, as you have noticed. I suggest, should you wish to go on a suicide mission, to take enough allies to actually have a chance; try you uncle."

The last comment earned a low growl from the half-angel, but Kaede stayed firm on her decision. "Sesshoumaru is a Lord now and is quite powerful. Naraku poses as much of a threat to him as he does to the rest of us and Sesshoumaru is not one to let his pride be wounded or his title mocked."

Inu-Yasha twitched an ear. "Yeah, but it's not like the bastard's gonna help me, even if it does save his own skin."

"He's helped a mortal, hasn't he?" Kaede said simply, causing Inu-Yasha to look at her in surprise. The half-angel blinked as he remembered the mysterious girl Rin, and the even more mystery around her as to why his uncle even seems to care. Sesshoumaru considered mortals even lowlier then the lowest breed of demon, yet he treated this young, and obviously naïve and annoying, mortal girl with even more respect then even his right hand man! Inu-Yasha shook his head to get the confusion out of it. No point in trying to make sense out of someone like Sesshoumaru; he had a better chance of defeating Naraku single-handedly.

"You should get some rest." Kaede said, breaking through Inu-Yasha's thoughts. Inu-Yasha gave her the same pointed look that he had given Sango earlier. Kaede shook her head and almost smiled, impressed at least by the boy's tenacity. 

"Fine then." She stood up and cleared away any of the materials she was using on Kagome, bringing out a large bowl of water in the process. "If you're not going to get any sleep you might as well put this on her forehead every half hour to keep her cool." The Ghost nodded to Inu-Yasha before giving one last worried look at Kagome, then she left.

Miroku was waiting for her outside, Shippo nowhere in sight. The monk was leaning against the building, his arms cross, his eyes were closed, seemingly in sleep, but as Kaede left the building he spoke. 

"You're not going to tell him." He said. Kaede stopped and looked at the village from the view of the key's temple on the hill. She shook her head in response to Miroku's statement. "It would be too dangerous and Inu-Yasha would just go and get himself killed, which would just result an even worse situation for Kagome. It's best for her to have him in the same room." She smiled slightly, remembering the perky, polite girl that had first come the village nearly two weeks ago. "They share a bond deeper then either of them know of."

Miroku nodded sagely, but was still bothered. "Still, he may have the right to know. After all, he is her guardian angel."

Kaede looked over at the spirit monk, then shook her head again. "I've known Inu-Yasha longer then you have, and his father before him. It may be wiser to keep silent for now."

"Even if her soul is being sucked from her." Miroku was unable to keep the bitterness from his voice as he studied his cursed hand, knowing that he would suffer the same fate the last day of his afterlife.  If Kaede was shocked that he knew the circumstances she didn't show it. Instead she began walking to her own home, giving no indication that she seemed concerned. 

"Get some rest houshi-sama. You know as much as I that you'll be needing it soon." She kept up she slow pace but couldn't help adding one last word. "And go to your own quarters, not Sangos."

The corner of Miroku's mouth twitched upwards in humour as he righted himself up, glancing back at the building that held Kagome and Inu-Yasha. He flexed his right hand unconsciously, fingering the rosary that kept the Air Rip sealed. Wondering just what the world was coming to and where Naraku was going with this, the monk turned and went to his own quarters, pointedly avoiding Sangos because he knew Kaede was watching him somehow.

Inside Inu-Yasha leaned against the wood and closed his eyes for a moment to rest them. Three days. Three fucking days since Kagome hadn't gotten ill and now she was only getting worse. It didn't take an idiot to see that she was dying and Kaede's medicine wasn't helping. Although now her heart wasn't pounding out a rapid death toll she had begun to shiver uncontrollably and breaking out in cold sweats. He opened one eye as she let out a light moan and shifted in her sleep, but seeing no other changes he closed his eyes again. Damn Naraku. Damn him… just damn him.

"Myuu! Myuu!" A tiny voice interrupted his brooding for a third time. Inu-Yasha slapped his neck just as the flea demon landed on it, not feeling like games today. Myouga popped himself back to normal and shook his head, feeling Inu-Yasha's bad mood. "Inu-Yasha-sama, I've heard what's happened and I have come to administer my regrets." He bowed respectfully. 

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow as he looked at the tiny demon. "She's not dead yet."

"Eh?" Myouga squinted over at Kagome's sleeping form. "Oh! So she isn't. She isn't!"

"What's got you so excited?" Inu-Yasha asked, looking at the flea demon in half-irritation and half-curiosity. Myouga beamed. "I believe I've found how to cure her." Before he could say anything else Inu-Yasha clenched him tightly and held him right up to his face. "Really! How?" Inu-Yasha shouted, looking now like an excited child. A cure for Kagome! "What is it, old man?"

"Myuuuuu!" Myouga clung to Inu-Yasha's thumb for dear life. "If you would stop shaking me maybe I could tell you!"

Inu-Yasha dropped the flea, eyes wide before narrowing again as he focused on his old demon mentor. "Well?"

"Ahem." Myouga coughed and brushed himself off. "Growing by the go-shinboku tree is a delicate flower by the name of kokoromi, which bears a small, red berry. If you crush this berry up into a paste, combine it with Kagome-sama's blood and mix in the hanaki flower you should be able to get a strong spell to ward off whatever curse Naraku has placed upon her."

A fanged grin light up Inu-Yasha's features. Then his grin turned menacing as he squashed the flea demon. "Dammit old man, why didn't you tell me this before?" A look of suspicion rose as well. "And why didn't baba know about this?"

Myouga rubbed his sore head as he answered his pupil's questions. "I've only recently been able to find out Kagome's conditions and the right medications of them and the kokoromi berries are visible only to demons."

Inu-Yasha snorted. "With a fuckin' name like 'heart berry'? What the hell kind of demon plant is that?" Myouga shrugged. Inu-Yasha looked back at Kagome, relief filling him. "Well at least now we can relax. Don't worry Kagome, I'll get you better." He promised his ask, brushing her hair aside from her face. The girl shuddered in her sleep before relaxing again. Determination on his face, Inu-Yasha stood up.

"Alright old man. Lead me to this kokoromimis, or whatever they are." He said, picking up the flea. With confidence he ran out of the room and toward the sacred tree that guarded the ninth key of Earth, where the berries that could save Kagome's life awaited. 

_Inu-Yasha?_ Kagome looked around in confusion, trying to figure out where she was. She remembered being with the kids before feeling really dizzy… then Sango had been saying something and then – 

_That's right, I passed out._ Kagome realized. _But why do I feel so weird?_ She looked around again, recognizing the ghostly village. It seemed pretty much the same except that it was mostly deserted. There were one or two people about but she couldn't recognize them. And their auras… she couldn't sense them at all. In fact, everything felt muddled and confusing, like she was watching it from underwater. 

_Is this a dream?_ She wondered. _Am I dreaming? Where's Inu-Yasha?_ Feeling a little out of place and a bit lost, she decided to go to the key temple to see if her guardian angel was there. She turned around and blinked: the key wasn't there!

_Wha- what's going on?_ She thought, taking a step back. It must be a dream, it had to be. She could sense the key, but it wasn't there. She turned to look at the few inhabitants; no wonder she didn't recognize them. Not only did they not live in the village any more, but they were dressed from ancient times. _ What is this place? Where am I?_ She was beginning to panic; what was going on?

_I-Inu-Yasha…_ She looked around, trying to find her guardian. _Inu-Yasha! Inu-Yasha! What's happening to me?_ No matter how loud she screamed, no sound was coming out. It was like she was being suffocated. 

Then she saw him. Or at least, it looked like him. Actually, to be honest, it looked like Shippo dressing up as him. Kagome couldn't help but gape as she watched her guardian angel, about 413 years younger walk down the street, still dressed in the same kimono. He was followed by Kaede, who looked the same and was carrying Tetsusaiga. The baby Inu-Yasha looked depressed, angry and curious all at the same time. 

_Inu-Yasha?_ Kagome said aloud, then clamped a hand over her mouth, thankful she couldn't be heard. Yet, Inu-Yasha looked straight at her, causing her to freeze. Kaede had stopped and was looking at her too, smiling. Kagome was beginning to think what she had done wrong when Inu-Yasha walked right up to her. 

"So ya er?" He asked and Kagome realized he was looking beyond her. Kagome blinked as a girl, no older then twelve, walked right through her and bent down to the young Inu-Yasha's level, although. Kagome couldn't help but stare at the girl. Dressed in the same clothing as Kaede, this angel, Kagome knew it was an angel because she could sense her energy although she couldn't' sense anyone else's, looked exactly like the confused girl she had just walked through. This must be Kikyou, Kagome thought. 

"Kind of a runt, isn't he?" Kikyou said rather sarcastically, reminding Kagome of Kagura, whom she did not want to be reminded of. Inu-Yasha frowned and kicked the girl in the knee, causing her to fall over. 

"A' 'east ima betta faita." The kid said and it took some difficulty for Kagome to translate it into 'at least I'm a better fighter'. The stunned Kikyou smiled and began laughing. 

"I'll never know what Sensei Kanake saw in that hanyou! And now I have to live with the little threeblood clone of him! Priceless!" she smiled, a little more softly. "He's a perfect clone, down to the ears, kimono and lack of tact." Inu-Yasha responded with a raspberry. 

"Kikyou." The angel looked up as Kaede pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to her. Kagome gasped.

It was the Shikon no Tama on a silver chain. Kagome watched the brilliantly glowing sphere as Kaede handed it over to the angel that was to die because of it, die and be Reborn as Kagome with the jewel inside of her. Remembering the painful extraction of it, Kagome winced. Her side was hurting again just at the memory. She put a hand to the wound, then her eyes widened as she quickly pulled it away. She was bleeding from it again.

The pain lanced through her sharply and suddenly, causing her to fall to the ground. She closed her eyes and dug her nails into her palms, hoping the pain would go away. It jabbed into her, causing her to experience some hot and cold flashes. She thought she could hear voices for a second before, just as quickly as it came, the pain went away and the dizziness passed. She opened her eyes and looked around again, blinking. She was in a hut, old style like in the ghost village by the looks of it. She put a hand on her forehead, blinking to clear away any of the remaining dizziness. Just what in the world was going on?

She gave a startled gasp and pulled her hand away from her head quickly. She was wearing the angel outfit! She tried to examine it closer, but something was moving her against her will, getting up and making the bed when Kagome would rather be lying down. What is wrong with me? Why is this happening? Who's doing this?

"'bout time." Her guardian angel's voice interrupted her and Kagome's body froze. She looked over at Inu-Yasha, who was standing in the doorway and looked about a year younger then when she knew him (she tried to think of him as around 17 – 18 instead of 418). Suddenly Kagome's body was her own again and instead of walking through her it seemed that Kikyou had just walked out of her. Kagome took a step back and tried not to scream. It's official, she thought grimly, I'm going crazy. 

Inu-Yasha smirked. "You sleep more then Kinu on a warm day."

Kikyou sighed and flicked one of Inu-Yasha's ears. Kagome suddenly felt very angry and wanted to go and tell the selfish witch to leave her guardian alone. Instead she stood there, stunned and confused, a part of her just wanting to watch this piece of Inu-Yasha's past. 

"Baka, Kinu's a fox-spirit. Of course he sleeps a lot in the afternoons. Besides, you'd be sleeping too if you had to stay up all night with a baby." She scolded him, pushing past him to walk outside. Inu-Yasha gave his characteristic snort. 

"S'not my fault Kinu's wench died in childbirth, is it?" He said, a little too gruffly and bluntly for Kagome. She fumed, knowing full well that Kinu was Shippo's father. 

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome shouted, only to find that her voice had come out along with Kikyou's. The half-angel, not hearing the voice of his future task, turned around to look at the angry full-blooded angel in surprise. She raised a hand and slapped him full across the face. "I don't care if you are a threeblood and your parents were killed by the infamous Naraku! That's no way to talk about anyway, especially not your friend!" She scolded the stunned half-angel.

Inu-Yasha just rubbed his cheek, his ears drooping as he leaned against the wall. Kikyou fumed. "Aka was a wonderful angel, always happy and cheerful." She chided him. "All she ever was was nice to you and now you're calling her a wench after she's died! Have you no respect? Kinu has to balance both taking care of little Shippo and being a Guardian!"

Inu-Yasha growled back at her. "Well if you feel so good Samaritan why don't you take care of the brat? I thought angels helped each other!"

"Not all of them." Kikyou hissed back. "Your mother didn't do us any good when she slept with that hanyou!"

The silence rang even harsher then after the slap pervious. Kagome just stood there, watching with slight fear and also a bit of amusement that Inu-Yasha and Kikyou were getting along even worse than Inu-Yasha and herself did. It was just a small bit that made her feel better. So much for lovers, she thought, remembering what Kagura had told her.

"Don't talk about my mother like that." Inu-Yasha growled, glaring at the female angel through his white bangs. Kikyou matched him glare for glare as the half-angel straightened himself up in an instinctive reaction to make himself look more formidable. "You didn't even know her."

"She was my sensei." Kikyou snapped. "I knew her longer and probably better then you, threeblood!"

Inu-Yasha looked liable to kill and Kagome was feeling a bit nervous for her predecessor, even though she knew that this had to be in the past, and therefore nothing would happen.  "Hey listen, I didn't ask for you opinion on my lineage. I can't help who my parents are!"

"Well maybe it's time you learned respect for others so that they can respect you! Aka wasn't the wench, it was your mother!" Kikyou turned around and stormed off, leaving Inu-Yasha in her wake. The angry half-angel lashed out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "My mother wasn't a wench."

"She screwed a half-breed, didn't she?" Kikyou almost purred back, tired of the game. Inu-Yasha's eyebrow twitched but he smiled all the same. "My mother was in love with my dad. But I suppose you wouldn't understand that."

Kikyou frowned. "And why's that?"

Inu-Yasha's smile widened. "Because you're a selfish, cold-hearted bitch." Before Kikyou could protest he pulled her into a kiss, pulling her body against his. Kagome took a step back in shock and turned around, closing her eyes shut. But that awful picture of the two of them seemed imprinted on the back of her eyelids, taunting her. She shook her head, trying to get rid of the image, digging her nails into her palms. She felt like she was being stretched out and then suddenly the pain in her side lanced out again, stabbing through her. She clutched it and fell to the ground as spots danced before her eyes. 

"Kikyou-sama?"

She opened her eyes in surprise and sat up, the pain once again suddenly gone. She looked up at the villager, he was a ghost for she could certainly see his aura clear enough, and stood up. She felt different somehow, a little dizzy and slightly numb. It must had been a dream, she thought, then turned to the village. 

"What is it?" She asked, then blinked in shock. A voice had come out of her that wasn't her own. Instead it was – 

"Kikyou-sama, I have terrible news." The village said. Suddenly Kagome noticed that he was leaning heavily on a stick and seemed badly burnt and wounded. "What is it?" she, or actually Kikyou, asked, although afraid what she would hear. 

"It's… it's Inu-Yasha…" The villager began coughing and Kikyou, with Kagome inside of her at sorts, ran up to help him. "Inu-Yasha? What's wrong with him? What happened?"

The villager didn't answer but Kagome had a bad feeling. Unwillingly she turned her head and gasped when she saw what she wasn't expecting: the entire spiritual village was aflame. She quickly stood up and called to some of her helpers to aid the wounded village and the rest to follow her. Quickly she ran into the fray, sending her helpers out to heal the wounded and get them out of there, clutching the Shikon no Tama to her chest. Had Inu-Yasha died while defending the village and now it was attacked by demons?

"Inu-Yasha!" She called out, running through the burning village. Maybe he was at their house, where she had last seen him after that awful fight with the scorpion demon. She ran faster when a nearby house exploded in flames, sending her crashing to the ground. As she tried to get up she suddenly felt a ripping feeling in her side as something tore through her. As she clamped a hand around the wound she looked up at her attacking, ready to let him know that he was going to be experiencing full Guardian wrath. 

She wasn't prepared for what she saw.

Inu-Yasha was standing in front of her, blood on his claws; _her_ blood. He gave her a fanged grin, his eyes glinting strangely in the firelight. He looked different somehow, but she knew it had to be him. It wasn't nobody else. 

"Hey little Guardian." He hissed, leaning down. With one bloodied hand he reached forward and snatched the jewel right off of her neck, cutting the skin. He grinned again as he pocketed the jewel. "Trick or treat."

"I-I-Inu-"

"Save your breath." The half-angel spat at her. "I'll see you in Hell." He turned around and left quickly, leaving her to bleed in the fire. 

"Inu-Yasha…" Kagome coughed, knowing that it wasn't her own blood but Kikyou's that she was spitting up. All the same, it was far too real and far too close for comfort. Her heart beat erratically in her chest as she fought for breath. Some of her helpers noticed her and ran up to help, but she barely registered their presence. It was Inu-Yasha she cared about, Inu-Yasha who had betrayed her, Inu-Yasha who had played her, Inu-Yasha who was doing this all for his own selfish reasons…

No! She shook her head. It wasn't Inu-Yasha, it was Naraku controlling him, even she knew that. Well, Kagome knew that. Kikyou didn't and now… now… Kagome clutched her head as a horrible ringing filled it. She felt like something had burst inside of her and now she was being torn in two, a sensation that felt oddly like being sucked through a vacuum. She felt the throbbing pain in her side again, getting stronger. A wave of heat washed over her and suddenly she was pulled back. She gasped in shock as she found herself looking at herself… no, it was Kikyou. Then suddenly Kikyou was gone and Kagome felt that horrible tearing feeling again. Then another wave of heat and voices suddenly appeared out of nowhere. 

And then she was awake. She blinked a few times, finding herself staring at a shocked Inu-Yasha with Myouga on his shoulder. Kagome stared at him, not seeing him for a second, then she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, sobbing. She felt broken, torn every which way. Inu-Yasha blinked and semi-consciously hugged, her patting her back. "You okay?" He whispered. "You scared us for a minute there. I thought I had lost you."

Kagome nodded before pulling back, catching her breath. Although her heart told her not to her brain told her it was the smartest thing to do, so she decided to tell him the truth. Not about everything she'd seen, but about everything she had figured out. Taking a deep breath she looked Inu-Yasha as straight in the eye as she could and told him straight out what she had experienced. "Kikyou's come back to life."

End Chapter 18

Woot! 280 reviews already! Yes! Let's keep 'em coming!

(oh, and expect a little surprise on Tuesday, a Christmas special. Not for GA, but a different story all together, tying in with the actual story of _Inu-Yasha_ It just popped into my head, but we like it!) It's a Christmas surprise called 'Snowflake' It's pointless fluff, but don't we all love those ones for Christmas?

~Ama

PS: LOTR is the best! Go see it! NOW!

  



	19. Chapter 19: Guests

Hey everyone, it's the nineteenth chapter as promised! Now that it's the holidays it's sooooo much easier to get them up and everything (although this one took it's time actually getting to the internet because I was watching Minority Report and I do have dial-up, unfortunately) You must all love me, since I try so hard to get these chapters done for you ~_^.

My Christmas was great! I got the Escaflowne soundtrack 3 and 30 bucks to get the Inu-Yasha soundtrack for myself, since my parents are dumdums. Did you all have a good Christmas and did you get what you wanted? Thanks to all of you who read _Snowflake_, my lil' Christmas fic. I was just in a seasonal mood and wanted to have something up other than _Guardian Angel_. You al know what I mean, ne?

Shout outs to my fave and recent reviewers (*sniffs* where did you all go?) at the bottom of the chapter, for space balance sine I'm a balance obsessed person.

Disclaimer: Woot! Blorg! Randomization! I don't own it and never will!

On to chapter nineteen! (man the titles are getting harder to think of. I just got it, since two of our fave charas gets guests tonight! It just seemed appropriate…) 

**Chapter 19: **

**Guests**

"It could be worse." Miroku said, watching the children play in the village's courtyard. Shippo looked at him questioningly. "Kagome almost died, then had her soul split in two and the other half is out there somewhere as the brought-back soul of the Guardian Kikyou and she's more than likely with Naraku, which is really bad news if he gets the Shikon no Tama too." The little kitsune rang off. "Not to mention that since then Inu-Yasha's been sulking and he always takes it out on _me_! How could it be worse?"

Miroku shrugged. "Kagome could have died instead of her soul splitting and Inu-Yasha could have gone on a wrathful killing spree. Or Naraku could have the Shikon no Tama and we'd all be hanging from our toenails above a fiery pit in Hell. Or – "

"Okay, okay, I get it." Shippo sighed. "Maybe we should go cheer Kagome up."

"I wouldn't recommend it." Miroku disagreed. "After all, Inu-Yasha is in a foul mood and could take it out on us. Besides," the monk added with a hint of sarcasm and a smile, "you know how sensitive he is in times like these." Shippo rolled his eyes in agreement.

"Houshi-sama?" They both turned to see Sango sticking her head out the door. She glanced back inside before leaving. She closed the door gently behind her and picked up Kirrara. "Things have not been going well." She sighed. Seeing the two boys' inquisitive looks she nodded. "Kagome-chan's asleep, exhausted. Inu-Yasha left some time ago, to go sulk for one reason or another." She sighed again, leaning against the wall and looking worn out.

"Sango-chan, you should get some rest." Miroku said, moving towards her. Sango eyed him suspiciously and straightened herself up. "I'm fine." She muttered. Miroku decided to go along with her, but he didn't believe it for a second. 

"Figures that everything happens to us." The girl muttered. 

"It's like a video game." Both mortals looked at Shippo as the fox-tailed angel sat on the tree stump in a thinking position. "You noticed?"

"Shippo, what do you mean?" Miroku asked curiously. Shippo looked at him in surprise. 

"You know, the video games, RPGs, like the Final Fantasies." The little fox elaborated. "angels have them too, although not as much. Most tend to think they're brain rotters and we'll just end up like rocks or… or…"

"Couch potatoes?" Sango put in, with a slight smile. 

Shippo nodded. "Yeah! That! Anyway, my point was that everything that's happened so far, from what I've gathered, is like a video game. Ever since Kagome died she's been in trouble and one by one, or two by two I guess, she meets us: first Sango and Kirrara then me 'n Miroku. After that she learns about Naraku and we all figure out that we're connected to Naraku at one point or another. Then there's the Reborn problem, and Kagome keeps getting kidnapped or hurt or both and it's like all the points of an RPG game. Everything's happening for a reason to this certain group of people because we have to save the world! It's like it was already written out or something and we're just little sprites to be moved around by a player!"

He received blank stares in response.

Shippo sighed and sat down again, having jumped up at some point in his tirade. "Nevermind."

Sango and Miroku smiled. "Shippo-chan, I think I made some sense of that." Sango said, patting the little angel on the head. "My brother used to play video games all the time." 

"I've played every single Final Fantasy game, all the Nintendo RPGs and most of the Playstation ones." Shippo grinned proudly. "And when I get back after this mess is done and we've saved the world and all that jazz then I'm getting an Xbox and PS2 and I'm playing them until my eyes bleed!"

Miroku laughed. "A guardian angel that's a video game junkie. Who would've thought?"

Shippo eyed him suspiciously. "Excuse Mr. Starcraft but I happen to be a technical genius back at my home, especially since most angels are stuck in the old ways and don't even know which end of a toaster is up. You're lucky you got an angel like me so that you didn't have to sleep outside all the time after your death." Miroku just smiled.

Sango looked up at the evening sky curiously and smiled. "But still, your ideas have merit, Shippo-chan, if not a little far-fetched. I wonder if may-" she paused and looked down at her guardian angel, who was facing the woods and growling. "What is it, Kirrara?"

"I sense it too!" Shippo said, jumping up again. Quickly Sango and Miroku looked at each other and nodded, getting ready for battle as their angel's became more powerful by use of the rosaries. They could see Inu-Yasha now, jumping out of the forest with Tetsusaiga drawn and transformed, fighting a quick-moving demon. They were nearing the bottom of the steep hill and Sango got her boomerang ready while Miroku grabbed both his staff and the rosary around his cursed hand, and their angels prepared for the assault as well. Suddenly Kagome burst out of the building, nearly knocking Miroku over.

"Stop!" she shouted, grabbing Sango and Miroku's arms. "Don't hurt him!"

Sango looked at Kagome curiously, wondering if she was having another nightmare. "Kagome-chan, don't worry. We're not going to hurt Inu-Yasha."

"Not Inu-Yasha!" Kagome protested. "Kouga!"

"Kouga?" Everyone looked at Kagome and then back at Inu-Yasha and the demon. Now that the pair were much closer it was a lot easier to see that it was in fact that dark-haired wolf demon, trying to reach the shrine and avoid Inu-Yasha's sword at the same time.

"Dammit you cowardly wolf, get back here!" Inu-Yasha was snarling. Kouga nimbly dodged Tetsusaiga's swing and growled back at the half-angel. 

"Listen puppy I don't have time to play." He said, swinging around a tree and kicking Inu-Yasha to the ground. Before Inu-Yasha could move the demon snatched up the old, rusted Tetsusaiga and swung it over his shoulder. "You screwed up protecting Kagome. Now it's my turn."

"Kouga-kun!" Kagome called down, nervous about down the steep slope. Kouga looked up, smiled and waved. 

"Ah, Kagome!" In a flash he was up and beside the girl, bowing. "It is a great pleasure to see you again. It's quite obvious the puppy hasn't been taking proper care of you." he said with a debonair smile. 

Inu-Yasha pushed himself up and growled. "I'd like to see you do any better, wolf."

Kouga smiled and stood up straight. "Really? Perhaps you'd like another match to prove this point?" he tossed Tetsusaiga back and Inu-Yasha caught it by the hilt, matching the full demon smile for glare. The insult was not past him and he sheathed the sword, still growling. "What do you want?"

"Ah, but to take Kagome away from you, of course." Kouga said, putting an arm around a stunned Kagome's shoulders. "For her angel you're pretty bad at it. I've noticed everything that's been going on around here and it disappoints me." He shook his head sadly. "When little puppies like you face up against the powerful Naraku it can only mean death."

Immediately everyone pulled out their weapons and pointed them at Kouga. The wolf demon looked around in confusion. "Wha-?"

"You work for Naraku, wolf?" Inu-Yasha nearly hissed as he surveyed the situation and tried to figure out the best way to get Kagome out of there. Kouga's expression changed completely and he clenched his free fist. 

"Not a chance." The demon said in a dangerous voice. "That bastard nearly wiped out my clan the first time around and ever since he came back the rest of the scardy-cats won't leave the den unless it's the middle of the day. And besides," he said with a smirk but his eyes still gleaming, "you didn't save Kagome from his lackey because you were incompetent." 

Inu-Yasha said nothing, knowing he wouldn't be able to argue on that subject. After a moment of the half-angel's silence Kouga smiled broadly. "See? I'm right, aren't I? You're a useless puppy; Kagome would be much safer with me."

"You stupid wolf, how the hell would you be able to stand up against Naraku, eh?" Inu-Yasha snapped. Kouga frowned. 

"I don't." he said simply. "Naraku has the Shikon no Tama now, or at least Kagura does, and so I don't stand a chance against him alone. That's why my clan's staying put and I'm bringing Kagome with me. There's a lot of us, she'll be much safer there." He prepared to race off, while Kagome was deciding whether she should go with him, try to stay with Inu-Yasha or just faint and see where that led her. 

"Hey! I'm not done with you yet!" The half-angel shouted. Kouga frowned, no longer looking amused. He put Kagome down and patted her head affectionately. "Don't worry Kagome. I'll be right back as soon as I'm done teaching this puppy."

"Who's teaching who?" Inu-Yasha snapped, swinging the sword. Kouga avoided it by leaping into the air and coming down behind the angel. 

"Stupid!" he kicked his opponent in the back to emphasise his insult. "You almost hurt Kagome!"

"She's fine!" Inu-Yasha said, spinning around. "Now shut the fuck up and pay attention to me!" He lifted Tetsusaiga into the air as energy began to swirl around it. "_Kaze no Kizu!_"

Kouga quickly jumped out of the way of the main blast from the sword but got clipped at the side by the shockwave, knocking him to his feet. Inu-Yasha wasted no chances and sheathed Tetsusaiga to charge the wolf and knock him into a tree with a hefty punch. Kouga got up and rubbed the part of his face where Inu-Yasha hit him. 

"Dammit puppy, that hurt!" He growled. Inu-Yasha smirked at the wolf and got into a ready stance. Kouga matched his smile and raced towards him. The half-angel ducked to the side to avoid Kouga's fist and aimed a blow at the wolf's midsection, only to find it missing. 

"Up here!" Inu-Yasha looked up to see Kouga in mid air, coming down quickly with his foot aimed at his head. Inu-Yasha didn't have time to think when he was knocked a few feet into the forest. Kouga landed and laughed. "See, what'd I tell you? A little puppy." He wrinkled his nose. "Geh, I hate the stink of dog."

"Damn you wolf…" Inu-Yasha growled, standing up. "I'll get you for that one!" He charged Kouga, claws ready and slightly buzzing with energy. Kouga ran up to meet him, still grinning. "Haven't learned your lesson yet?" he asked, rather cheerfully. 

"Inu-Yasha! Kouga-kun!" Kagome's voice interrupted their battle thoughts. Kouga blinked and ducked just as his opponent swung at him, then the wolf demon was beside Kagome again, holding her hands. 

"I'm sorry Kagome for abandoning you like that." He apologized. "I suppose we should be away then…"

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome broke free of her suitor's grip and ran up to her angel, who was panting for breath. "Are you alright?"

"I…. Uh…." Inu-Yasha blinked at her, then strengthened his resolve. "I'm fine. Hey you!" he pointed a claw at a shocked Kouga. "Aren't we supposed to be fighting?"

"Sit." Kagome said, arms crossed. Inu-Yasha immediately fell face first in the ground, muttering incoherent curses. Kouga couldn't help but smile as he looked over at the young girl. Kagome shook her head before the wolf demon could even open his mouth. "Sorry Kouga-kun," she said gently, "but I have to stay here for now. I just got over a bad… fever and Kaede-sama thinks I should stay here for a little while longer, plus we have to figure out about Naraku."

Kouga nodded, thought about this for a minute, then looked like he was about to talk again when another voice interrupted them. 

"Hold it right there Inu-Yasha, and you too youkai. There's some things I want to talk about with you."

Everyone turned around to see Kaede walking up from the shrine, a serous look on her face. Kouga blinked, then looked around and realized where he was and turned a shade or two paler. 

"My lady Ghost!" he said, bowing. "Sorry for intruding on your grounds. I was teaching a certain puppy a lesson or two about how to truly care for a woman." He glanced over at Inu-Yasha, who growled in return.

Kaede smiled slightly, nodding. "Yes, I saw and heard everything. That's why I'm here. Some things you said disturbed me, wolf, and I want to clarify them with you. Now did you, or did you not, previously claim that Naraku had the Shikon?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken stumbled through the corridors of the castle, clambering his way up the stairs and into the fourth Lord's main room. Sesshoumaru looked up from his work and the ever energetic Rin was busy playing Pop-Up-Pirate. Jaken leaned on his staff, panting from his long run up the stairs, dearly wishing they'd get elevators. "Sesshoumaru-sama!" he wheezed. 

"What is it Jaken?" Sesshoumaru asked calmly, putting his work down. Jaken took in another deep breath and tried to compose himself. 

"Sesshoumaru-sama, you have a visitor." He said, straightening up. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow but otherwise didn't react. He stood up and moved towards the door, nodding at Jaken. Jaken blinked, then straightened up and nodded. "Sesshoumaru-sama I… I…"

"Who is it?" Sesshoumaru asked, his voice a little tight. 

"Oh!" Jaken gulped. "I-It's the… the… the dead Guardian milord. She says that she wants to talk to you…"

Sesshoumaru brushed past his servant and began to walk downstairs. Jaken turned around to watch the Demon Lord's descent when Rin barrelled into him and they both tumbled down the stairs. The pair of them knocked into the feet of Sesshoumaru and if the demon was irritated he was showing no signs. Instead he bent down and picked up Rin, placing her on the step in front of him. 

"Come Rin, we have a visitor." He said, moving her forward. Rin smiled. 

"Really? I hope it's not a smelly one like the last one. Should I go make tea, Sesshoumaru-sama?" without waiting for a reply she raced downstairs and took a left into the kitchen, probably to torture the cook yet again. Sesshoumaru continued walking until he reached the bottom of the stairs and the front door. 

"What is it?" he said, pressing a button on the side wall. A small screen light up, showing a pale face with messily done-up black hair and dark, burning eyes. The girl looked annoyed for a moment, then smiled. 

"Fourth Lord Sesshoumaru I hope." she said. "This is an odd way to greet your visitors."

Sesshoumaru didn't bat an eye. "It is a security system, more or less. Is there something you want or should I, Sesshoumaru, just send you on your way?"

The visitor laughed. "Charming as ever, I see the power hasn't gone to your head." She again looked up into the camera, with a bit frustration that she couldn't see her host. "I want to talk."

"About what, you undead wr–" Jaken was cut off by Sesshoumaru, who issued a series of codes into a small panel hidden under the rock of the cold stone wall. The two large doors began to creak open slowly, revealing the lost Guardian in the dim, putrid light of the fourth Lord's domain. She looked a mess, wearing borrowed clothes that were too large and looking worse for wear from her long journey. But she entered the castle proudly, smirking at Sesshoumaru and glaring at the toad-like demon beside him. Jaken coward behind his master but still gave Kikyou a death glare. The angel walked into the building and looked around, trying to cover the amazement she felt. 

"A lot's changed." She remarked. Sesshoumaru said nothing until the doors closed behind him. The demon walked up beside the angel and gave her a calm look.

"It's called technology." He said. "Sort of a joint production between the three existences, although I am forced to give the mortals most of the credit on it's part. It's meant to simplify life, but I use as little as possible to offer protection, get my work done efficiently and offer a few luxuries." He began moving towards the stairs. "If there is something you wish to talk about, I suggest we do it in my office. I'm certain you have useful information for me, Kikyou." 

Kikyou looked around the technological-enhanced castle and smirked. She turned around and followed the demon Lord up the stairway, her eyes glinting darkly. "The pleasure's all mine." She answered.

Sesshoumaru led Kikyou into his main office, where she gave the laptop on his desk a curious look before ignoring it and sitting on the ground beside a small table. Sesshoumaru sat across from her, regarding her calmly but with a touch of interest and curiosity in his eyes. 

They both looked up as Rin ran into the room, carrying a tray with teacups on it. She slowed as she saw Kikyou, sensing something wrong that she couldn't place her finger on with the angel, and skirted over to the side of the table where Sesshoumaru was. She placed the tray down and backed up a little, eyes still on the dead Guardian. She gave a quick bow and ran off silently, running down the stairs with a light patter that soon vanished altogether. 

Kikyou watched where Rin had disappeared with curiosity and turned to look at Sesshoumaru with a slight smirk. "Mortal slaves? Is that also 'something new'?" she questioned, glancing back at the doorway. "She didn't appear to be dead."

"She's not." Sesshoumaru replied curtly, fixing his tea up to his liking. "I discovered her after a particularly messy demon attack on mortals, the soul survivor. Her guardian angel had been killed and she was half fazed into the immortal dimensions anyway, so I merely fazed her through completely and took her in."

"Hmm…" Kikyou said, still watching the doorway. She turned to Sesshoumaru as he lay a cup of tea down in front of her. "She looks familiar, doesn't she? Odd little girl, there's some definite mystery about her."

Sesshoumaru said nothing, taking a sip of his beverage. As he lowered the cup down he eyed Kikyou somewhat dangerously. "I assume you have a purpose for being here."

"Ah, right. That." Kikyou said, looking at her drink but not touching it. "I want to get back to the mortal plane." She said bluntly, getting straight to the point.

Sesshoumaru took a sip and calmly put the cup down again, seemingly in thought. Then, carefully and with purpose, he spoke. "I can't do that." He replied, taking another sip, his silence and manner daring the angel in front of him to try anything in his world on his territory. Kikyou's eyes narrowed but then she smiled. 

"Why not?" she asked, putting a hand on her cup but not taking a drink. She smiled calculatingly, playing a mind game with the demon Lord. 

"Because, simply put, you are not allowed to be in any of the planes, much less the weakest." Sesshoumaru said with authority, disliking such games. "This Sesshoumaru has no reason to argue or play with you. My answer is simple and clear: no."

Kikyou frowned. "And I suppose I'm to stay in Hell for the rest of my days?" she said dangerously. Sesshoumaru eyed her, unfazed. 

"My dear Guardian," he said, putting his tea down. "You do realize what circumstances led to your coming back to life, do you not?"

Kikyou was silent for a moment. "Naraku." She finally answered. 

"Not just Naraku." Sesshoumaru responded. "But a mortal as well, a Reborn, _your_ Reborn. No doubt she was killed in the process to bring you back to life." He filled his cup again and took a calculating drink. "Interesting fact however that my nephew his her guardian angel."

"What?" Kikyou looked up, her eyes flashing. "Inu-Yasha… You mean he survived?" 

Sesshoumaru shrugged. "Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it I suppose. Of course, I will have to kill him at some point to retrieve my father's fang Tetsusaiga; purely in the sense of tradition of course since I wasn't able to kill his father. I don't particularly care about him to tell you the truth."

Kikyou wasn't even listening to him any more. "And he's become the guardian angel of my Reborn?"

Sesshoumaru nodded, eyeing her carefully. "You don't recall any of this?" he asked. A distant nod from Kikyou as she thought answered his question. "Hmm…" Sesshoumaru thought aloud. "Perhaps the Reborn didn't die after all. Kikyou."

"What?" Kikyou looked up from her thoughts. Sesshoumaru rang a bell for service and looked at the dead angel in slight curiosity. "Any particular food you like?" he asked politely. "I wish to hear all about your processing of reincarnation and particularly your escape from Naraku; indeed as to how you escaped in the first place."

"So the whole reason why everyone wanted to get at Kagome was the Shikon shard?" Sango recapped. Everyone looked at Kaede and Myouga over to Kagome, who was sitting in between Kouga and Inu-Yasha and was slightly nervous about the two boys glaring at each other over her head. 

Kaede watched the two boys to make sure they behaved and then nodded to answer Sango's question. "Yes, that would be the best explanation from what I've heard now. Kagome dear," she looked over at the young girl, who looked up at her. "Why didn't you tell anyone about this?"

"Well, I…" Kagome bit her lip, trying to think of the best possible explanation. "Well Kouga ki – uh rescued me first and I didn't know him well so I didn't say anything about it." she started. "And then after that I guess I just unconsciously tried to forget about it."

Inu-Yasha snorted. "Yeah, well every time I brought Kagura up you avoided the subject!" he accused. Before Kagome could respond Sango interrupted.

"Actually Inu-Yasha it was because every time the subject came up the subject of Kouga also came up and then you would throw a fit and change the subject yourself." She reminded. Inu-Yasha snorted again and leaned against the wall.

"It's alright child." Kaede comforted Kagome. "Don't worry about it, there was nothing you could have done. What matters now is that Naraku has the Shikon no Tama, which may be worst possible thing to happen to us." She looked serious. "We might have to venture to war."

End Chapter 19

  


Yay1 Another done!

Shout outs:

**InuSammy:** Thanks for the compliments! Since you read my story I'll be more then glad to read yours! I'm sure they'll be great, since you obviously have good taste *nudgenudge winkwink*

**Imoen:** More more more is coming! Wow, hold your horses you guys, I'm not a machine *laughs* I'll get them up every Monday, okay? And hey, if you're that excited get some… more sugar!

**Fate:** Very cool? Very cool? Really really really? Wow, that's great! Thankies! Oh so much! I love feeling loved…

**Roganu-chan:** Woah? That's it? (Am I that good to render you speechless or am I that bad?)

**Catleya:** Yay, sugar for Ama! Actually I've had so much chocolate for Christmas it's been driving me crazy! Crazy! You were lost in a civilization somewhere near the US? No internet? You poor child! *donates candy* Chocolate is a great stress curer! Just don't get fat because of me! (you may die of obesity and then I'll get sued) And my story's that great? Oh, I'll be sad to see it end. And I know what you mean ~_^

**Invincible2: **One of your fave fics, eh? Whee! That calls for candy for everyone! *throws it in the air*

**Sunflowerobi:** You bounce dude, you bounce. What's with the crazy name anyway?

**Saiera:** Yeah, it was a weird.. thing I had. I dunno. I needed to fix the past up with the present and Kagome was the only way of doing it. I did a pretty good job though, right?

**Trunks Gal:** Love the fic and hate Kikyou? *sighs* don't we all. I'm trying to make her more likeable, but it's not working. In fact, she's coming out even bitchier. Maybe I'll just have her die off, but of course I need her for the plot…

**Vicious-wolf:** Sorry I didn't get to you last time *sweatdrops* I must have missed ya when I was doing the shout outs. And yep, I based that little angel after Momiji from Fruits Basket ^_^ Couldn't help myself. I just love him so much, he might keep popping up in the story! Maybe even become a character! (okay, maybe not…)

Done for now! And hey guys, only nine reviews for one chapter? That's my lowest so far! You make me feel forgotten! Lonely! Sad! *sniffs* Ah, I'm kidding ya. You were all probably just busy, so you didn't have time to read it yet, or review. Right?

*grins* Ah well, I forgive since it is the holidays. Happy New Year everyone, year of the ram! I'm staying up late watching anime and playing Kingdom Hearts! I hope youall have fun too!

Best wishes,

~Ama (until we meet again and…

REVIEW! [had to do it])


	20. Chapter 20: Repeat

Hey everyone! Iiiiiit's the 20th chapter! Aren't you all excited? I thought so!

Hmm, apparently FFN is screwing up to the foreheads of Ents and nothing can get in or out. I've been trying to access for days and it hasn't been working! Then it worked! Yay!

Gah! Hard… single… word.. titles… die!

Gah again! Kouga's such a had character to write! Why Kouga, why can't you be easier?

Sorry for the slightly cliff-hanger ending there… I wanted to make sure you guys were kept on your toes. Somebody's gotta do it!

And we got to 300 reviews, before the 20th chap! Thankies everyone!

Shout outs:

**Nariko:** Oh, come on, stop flattering. I'm not –the- best IY fanfic author ever… maybe one of though… And you're raising my muse's ego now ^^. Hurrah for 2003! So far it's looking to be a great year. Yeah, and those one-word titles are killer…

**Saiera:** I know, isn't Rin adorable? I wanna trade places with her… dammit, if Sesshoumaru can stand her he can stand me!

**Imoen:** Oh, I'm not feeling rushed at all. It's the trying to keep up a good schedule while taking school five and half-times a day along with driver's ed and work and all my little extra-curricular activities that I don't know why I got into them. THAT'S rushed. (but really, I'm fine)

**Ditto**: What's wrong with Sesshoumaru and a laptop? Personally I think he'd look attractive as a business man… (but that's just me)

**Roganu-chan:** Wow, that was a blur. Yeah, Kikyou's there and she's important or else she'd be hanging from her toenails above a vat of boiling cat piss… anyway, see after the chappir for doujinshi details, kk?

Disclaimer: Shnaboo (you all know what I'm saying)

**Chapter 20: **

**Repeat**

"War?" Kagome repeated, nervousness raising her voice an octave. "As in fighting? Demons?" She couldn't believe her ears. Kaede hadn't just said war, had she?

The Ghost nodded sadly. "Yes my child, I'm afraid so. It appears that history is repeating itself all over again with the circumstances of four-hundred years ago when the first war was led against Naraku." She sighed, shaking her head. "It's a shame, really."

Myouga nodded from her shoulder, casting a glance over the group before him, 'hmm'ing to himself. "Kouga." He said suddenly and the wolf demon looked up from where he had been glaring at Inu-Yasha over Kagome's head. He blinked as the tiny flea jumped over to the wolf's knee and stared up at him from there. "Kouga of the wolves, how old are you?

Kouga's confused look vanished as he growled. "I don't think that's any of your business." He said, crossing his arms. "But I'm definitely younger than you, old man."

Myouga did not look amused as he stroked his whiskers. "But old enough to remember Naraku, right?"

Again Kouga growled. "I was just a kid, but yeah, I was alive when Naraku kicked the bucket." He eyed Myouga suspiciously, with some confusion. "Why?"

"Hmm…" Myouga thought to himself quietly while Kouga waited with little patience. Just as the wolf demon was about to grab the tiny flea and strangle him until he said something, Myouga nodded. "Kouga, leave please."

"Eh?" Kouga's features lit up in confusion. "What's that old man?"

Myouga twitched his whiskers at the disrespect but nodded. "Kouga, I'm afraid that this does not deal with you. You may leave please, so I may speak to the rest of them."

The wolf demon blinked, then glanced at Inu-Yasha and then Kagome. Then his eyes hardened and he looked back over at the flea on his knee and growled. "Like hell it's not my business! If Kagome's involved then so am I!"

"Eh, Kouga-kun…" Kagome started then paused, not quite sure what to say. She was a bit flattered by the wolf's determination but she didn't want a fight to break out and she knew that Inu-Yasha was holding back in the Ghost's house by the way his ears were twitching. Myouga shook his head at Kouga's tenacity. 

"Kouga, Myouga-ji-san is right." Kaede said, bringing their attention to her. "This does not concern you so would you please leave for now. I assure you that you will be able to see Kagome soon."

Kouga's nose twitched nervously as he thought about this, glancing from Kagome to Myouga to Kaede and back at Kagome. He looked uncertain then sighed and nodded, the firm look in his eyes again. He stood up and grinned challengingly at Inu-Yasha. "Fine then, I'll go if that's what the Ghost wants, don't want any wars, now do we? Just make sure the like puppy keeps his hands to himself, eh?" he bowed down, took Kagome's hand and kissed it and left in a flash faster than Inu-Yasha could jump up and strangle him. 

As the dust from Kouga had cleared Myouga coughed and positioned himself on a small pillow, crossing his arms in his usual pose. "Now, down to business."

"What's this about, Kaede-sama?" Sango asked curiously, stroking a calm and ever silent Kirrara. Kaede looked at the six of them and nodded. "Exactly like before." She said, seemingly lost in her old world. 

"Eh?" everyone looked at her, trying to figure out what she was talking about.

"Baba, what the hell is all this?" Inu-Yasha snapped irritably, still shooting glare in the direction where Kouga had vanished. Kaede looked pointedly at Inu-Yasha with a glare that made him regret his decision to speak. 

"Inu-Yasha, what do you remember of your parents?" She asked, catching the half-angel off guard. He blinked at her, then looked as if he was thinking. Then he frowned and glared back at her. "Nothing at all, that's what. Now what the hell do my dead folks have to do with anything?" He leaned against the wall, snorting grumpily and closing his eyes. 

Kagome watched him, partially angry at him, partially amused by his behaviour and partially sad for him. He remembered his parents, she knew that. And she remembered the tiny Inu-Yasha from her 'memories' and how young he had been when they had died. Her eyes softened as she thought about it. No wonder he was so touchy about the subject, since he had obviously cared for his parents a lot. 

Inu-Yasha, feeling his task's eyes on him, opened one eye to look at her questioning. "What the hell's your problem?" he said. Kagome frowned. "You know, if we weren't in Kaede-sama's house I'd 'sit' you right now!"

"Oh, go ahead, we don't mind." Miroku said and Shippo nodded while Sango gave them both disapproving looks. Kaede chuckled and shook her head. 

"No dear, it's alright. I suppose that the question was a bit to rash, but it's for the circumstances unfortunately." She turned her attention back at Inu-Yasha, who looked both angry with and scared of Kagome at the same time. "Inu-Yasha, do you recall anything about your parents or their friends?"

Inu-Yasha snorted, but glanced at an increasingly annoyed Kagome and decided to give it a try. "Eh… well… there was Kinu, I remember him…" his ears twitched back and forth as he thought and Kagome held back a giggle. "Then there was Miryoku and Shinju… there was that weird old farmer who would also visit every once in a whi– what the hell does this have to do with anything?" he growled, his patience snapping. 

Kaede was smiling patiently. "Everything. Think about your parent's friends, carefully."

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow. "Well Kinu was as annoying as his brat," he mused, ignoring Shippo's angry squeak, "and Shinju was nice, she also brought food for me… don't know what the hell she saw in stupid bouzo my parents were friends with though…" his eyes widened. "Shit!"

"What, what is it Inu-Yasha?" Kagome asked worriedly. Inu-Yasha looked like he had seen a ghost and he glanced around at everyone in the room before looking back at Kaede, who seemed amused by all of this. He blinked a few times then leaned back against the wall. "Holy mother fucking shit."

"Don't swear." Kagome chided, flicking one of his ears and earning an annoyed growl from her guardian. Inu-Yasha looked back at Kaede, an indifferent look back on his face. "Well baba, so? It's coincidence, that's all."

"What's a coincidence?" Kagome asked. Miroku looked over at the Ghost. "Kaede-sama, would you mind filling us in?"

Kaede nodded. "Actually, I'd prefer if Inu-Yasha explained." Everyone looked expectantly at Inu-Yasha, who looked more confused then them. "What?" he sputtered. "What the hell do I know? So what if everybody looks like everybody, what does that have to do with it?"

"He's not doing a very good job at explaining." Shippo said and the others nodded as the tiny angel hid from Inu-Yasha's wrath. Kaede sighed. "Fine then, I'll explain." Everyone looked over at the Ghost, who seemed to know what she was talking about more than anyone else.

"Over 400 years ago the evil demon Naraku first appeared, searching for the chance to destroy the keys and plunge the three existences into total chaos. Demons, mortals and angels alike fought against him but he had his own army and was far too strong. Using the Shikon no Tama, which he had created from himself and the souls of a Lord, a Ghost and a Guardian he was able to oppose any in his way."

"Except my dad!" Shippo said proudly and Inu-Yasha would have hit him had the fox not hidden behind his task. Miroku did Inu-Yasha a favour and hit Shippo on the head for him. 

"Exactly." Myouga nodded, picking up the story from there. "You all remember the first time we met, on the train with Inu-Yasha-sama. I informed you all on your past lives."

Kagome nodded, remembering when they had first met Myouga and he had first let it slip that she was Kikyou's Reborn. Sango was the reincarnation of one of the group that had killed Naraku, while Miroku was the descendent of the monk. Inu-Yasha's father, Shippo's father and Kirrara's mother too, if she remembered right. So everyone except for her… "So everybody's the same as 400 years ago?" she pieced together. There was a bit of silence as everyone realized this and Myouga nodded. 

"Exactly. Inu-Yasha-sama and his father looked remarkably similar and Shippo is the near image of his father when he was young. Miroku is the descendent of the monk Miryoku, and quite a resemblance too I might add, and Sango is the striking image of the takijin Shinju, no doubt her reincarnation. Have you ever wondered where you got the idea for your Hiraikotsu when you're fighting demons?" he asked the girl.

Sango looked a little surprised and shook her head. "No actually. To tell the truth, Kirrara mentioned it once and I guess I just got used to it."

Myouga rubbed his whiskers and nodded again. "I should have thought, since Kirrara's mother was Shinju's closest friend." He closed his eyes and though for a moment, giving the others time to digest the information he had given them. "Not only that," He spoke up suddenly, "but Kagome-sama as well." Before she could interrupt he held up a hand. "Kagome-sama, while it is quite clear that you are the Reborn of the Guardian you are still close to the image of Kanake-sama. It shouldn't come as a surprise, since they were cousins." Kagome didn't know what to say to that. 

 "Listen old man, what does this have to do with anything?" Inu-Yasha, who had managed to remain quiet throughout the entire conversation, finally spoke up. "So what if everybody's the reincarnation of everybody? Big deal, the whole gang's back together 400 years later! It's not like it's important…" he trailed off as Myouga gave him a meaningful look.

"Does it?" Kaede said calmly. "Don't you think, Inu-Yasha, that it's quite the coincidence that when Naraku returns to once again try his evil ways that the reincarnations and descendents of  his slayers should find each other again, out of all the chances?"

Inu-Yasha opened his mouth, paused, then closed it again, at loss for words. It was strangely true how it all worked out. He ended up being Kagome's guardian angel, out of some strange twist of fate, and Kirrara, whom he became friends with after he found out her mother had known his, ended up ironically being the guardian angel of Shinju's reincarnation. And Miroku got Shippo as an angel, so even though Miryoku and Kinu weren't that close the pervert had been somewhat of an older brother to the angel kit. Then Inu-Yasha and Kagome had managed to meet Sango and Kirrara, meeting Miroku and Shippo only moments after. As the half-angel careful turned this over in his mind, he was shocked he had never noticed it before.

Everyone had noticed the sudden change in Inu-Yasha's attitude and Kaede couldn't help but smile that finally, in 400 years, she had managed to shut the half-angel up. "You see?" she said simply. "Everything's connected."

"So, we're all related somehow to the group that first killed Naraku?" Sango clarified. "So it's like what it was 400 years ago?"

"Indeed my dear Sango." Myouga replied sagely. Suddenly Shippo gave a slight squeak and everyone looked at him. 

"I – I just realized something Kaede-bachan!" Shippo said, more to the Ghost than anyone else. "If everything going's exactly as before, then from what my dad told me, Inu-Yasha and Kagome are gonna… are gonna… are gonna…" he stammered, eyes wide with fear from memories of his father's stories.

"What is it, Shippo-chan?" Kagome asked, concerned. She and Inu-Yasha were going to what? She blinked, suddenly remembering that Naraku had been the cause of Inu-Yasha's parents death.

Shippo whimpered, his eyes wide as he jumped up and hugged Kagome tight around the neck. "You're gonna… get _married_!"

There was silence as everyone looked at the young angel as Kagome peeled him off of her neck and looked at him in confusion. Kaede and Kirrara were smiling, Myouga was looking sorry for Shippo and Miroku and Sango had come down with some strange coughing fits. Kagome turned a fine shade of pink and Inu-Yasha's right ear began twitching with annoyance. 

"Shippo…" he said in a dangerously calm voice. "Can I talk to you outside…. now."

Shippo blanched, wishing that maybe he should listen to something else his father had told him and  keep his mouth shut.

"Interesting…" Sesshoumaru, looking as calm as ever, took mental note of what Kikyou had just told him and took another calculating sip of his tea. The undead, former Guardian eyed him suspiciously as he stood up and moved silently over to his bureau. The demon Lord opened up his laptop and began to fiddle with it. After the cold air of the Fourth domain's castle remained silent for a moment or two, with exception to the steady clicking of Sesshoumaru's fingers over the computer keys, Kikyou began to get impatient. Finally, when she could stand the suspense no longer, she stood up.

"What are you doing?" she asked boldly. Sesshoumaru never looked up or faltered in his work as he replied calmly. 

"It's called typing, it's a way of sending a message to someone else. It uses fibre optics and light and electronic signals to send word to whomever I choose." He said, still typing fluidly. Kikyou waited another moment before asking another question in her irritated manner.

"What are you typing?" she asked, trying to keep her anger in check. 

Sesshoumaru continued to type, taking his time in answering the angel's questions. "A message." He replied. Kikyou waited before she began to get angry. "What's on the message?" she asked, her teeth clenching.

"Information." Sesshoumaru said, his attention still full on the screen before him. 

Kikyou's temper snapped and she slammed her fists on the Fourth Lord's desk. "Dammit Sesshoumaru give me a straight answer! I don't feel like playing games here!" She glared daggers at the full grown demon before her as he finally turned his attention to her, one eyebrow slightly arched in annoyance. 

"Jaken." He said, his voice carrying through the halls. After a moment a clattering noise was heard and the staff-toting toad demon stumbled into the room.

"Yes Se-Sesshoumaru-sama!" he squawked, gulping for breath then pausing when he saw the scene before him. Sesshoumaru held Kikyou's gaze for a moment before returning to his computer. "Take Kikyou-sama to transportation and be polite."

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken blinked and Kikyou raised an eyebrow, unable to keep the triumphant smirk from her face. 

"You're letting me go? Why the change of heart?" she questioned, walking over to Jaken but pausing around eight feet from him, refusing to venture any closer. Sesshoumaru didn't give her a second glance. 

"You gave me the information that I needed and your return to any of the planes will not be for long. You have told me that it was Naraku's magic that brought you back; when Naraku is dead his magic will vanish and you will resort back to dust. The very fact that the mortal girl who was your Reborn is still alive will only further your short fate."

Kikyou didn't seem fazed by his predictions. "You sound quite sure of yourself that you're going to defeat Naraku." She said coldly.

Sesshoumaru looked at her again, his golden eyes flashing with battle light. "Kikyou, you seem to forget who I am. This Sesshoumaru is the Fourth Lord, near highest to the top, in a bloodline of many powerful demon Lords. This war that Naraku is trying to begin will end just as quickly." He turned back to his computer and closed it, finished with what he would do. "Now leave quickly. Jaken."

"Yes Sesshoumaru-sama." Jaken bowed and prodded Kikyou with his staff, no more wanting to touch her than she him. "Come on you, let's get you out of here."

Kikyou administered a death glare to the toad demon but allowed herself to be led through the many maze-like corridors of the Fourth castle. Sesshoumaru sat in his chair for a moment, staring at his closed laptop thoughtfully, before standing up and moving leisurely over to the window where his two swords rested. He lightly ran a clawed finger over his older one, the Tenseiga. Once he had hated the existence of his inheritance but now he had grown to accept it's presence. His other sword, the demonic blade Toukijin, could almost taste the blood of battle and was gleaming in the firelight of Hell hungrily. Sesshoumaru's brows furrowed when he saw this; he was getting sick of all these wars.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, is the lady gone?" the Lord turned around to see Rin peeking through the doorway, looking around for Kikyou. Seeing no one but the demon she stepped in and smiled brightly. "I heard something about the teleport room. Am I going home soon, Sesshoumaru-sama?" She looked up at him expectantly. 

Sesshoumaru gave the slightest hint of a smile and turned around to face the window again. "No Rin, it's much safer for you to stay here in the castle with Jaken right now."

Rin wrinkled her nose. "I don't like Jaken, he's mean, smelly and ugly. I'd rather be with Sesshoumaru-sama."

Sesshoumaru didn't answer before he picked his two swords and began to leave the room. Rin quickly followed after him, looking confused. 

"Rin, stay here." Sesshoumaru ordered and Rin froze in position obediently. "This Sesshoumaru has much to deal with. Make sure to get any messages someone may send me, alright?"

Rin nodded. "Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama!" She stood there obediently, watching the demon Lord walk down the stairs and soon vanish. The little girl stood there for a while before getting bored and running over to Sesshoumaru's bureau, where she pulled out some paper and crayons. "I'll draw another picture for Sesshoumaru-sama!" she decided, carefully choosing through the colours before she picked the one she wanted.

"Inu-Yasha, that's enough!" Kagome said after she realized that Inu-Yasha and Shippo's 'discussion' outside involved a lot of Shippo screaming and running away from Inu-Yasha, who was spouting curses. Kagome stood in the doorway, watching and trying to get her guardian to stop. "Inu-Yasha, leave him alone!" she said more loudly but the half-angel didn't seem to let up on his trying to kill the little fox. Kagome sighed. "Fine, be that way!" she shouted and calmly walked towards the two of them. 

"Kagome-chan, don't!" Sango said, trying to stop her but Kagome just winked. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." She said. 

"Kagome-sama, allow me." Miroku said, coming up behind Sango, who quickly jumped out of the doorway. Miroku smiled at the flustered girl and walked up to Kagome, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We'll both do it at the count of three."

"Well I don't think Shippo deserves it…" Kagome said, while the angel in question let out a squeal when Inu-Yasha nearly caught him. 

"No, no, it's perfectly fine." Miroku smiled, waving a hand. "That way Shippo won't run off or something. He's my guardian, trust me."

"Empty words for a pervert." Sango said calmly, Hiraikotsu again making acquaintance with Miroku's skull. Miroku quickly hid his hand back into his sleeve and waved weakly at Sango, who grumbled in annoyance and moved to the other side of Kagome, giving the monk an evil glare. 

Kagome held back a giggle. "Alright. Ready Miroku-sama?" Miroku nodded. "Then one… two… three… sit!"

"Heel!"

WHAM! Both angels fell flat on their faces as the rosaries took effect. Inu-Yasha immediately lifted his head and glared bloody murder at his task. "Damn you Kagome! The hell was that for?"

Kagome smiled sweetly. "Now, now Inu-Yasha, calm down. I think Shippo's suffered enough, don't you?"

Inu-Yasha glared over to where Shippo was also having trouble standing up again before the little kit's arms gave out and he flopped back to the ground in defeat. The half-angel grunted. "So?" he said, getting the feeling back in his legs and sitting up. 

"Kyaa, Kagome! Miroku and Inu-Yasha are being mean!" Shippo cried as Kagome went over to him and picked him up. Kagome smiled and patted the fox-angel's head soothingly. "It's alright, Shippo-chan. Sango-chan already took care of Miroku-sama and I already sat Inu-Yasha." She said, handing Shippo over to Miroku, who had a second bump on his head for trying to take advantage of Sango's distraction. 

"Has everything been settled yet?" Kaede asked from the doorframe, her one eye focusing on Inu-Yasha before glancing over the rest of the group. "If so I'd wish to speak with you a little bit more."

"What about, Kaede-sama?" Kagome asked curiously as she entered the building, followed by everyone else and finished with a sulking Inu-Yasha. After everyone had returned to their seats Kaede nodded and was about to sit down and resume their discussion. 

"Miko-sama! Miko-sama!" A tiny voice suddenly interrupted anything they were about to say. Kaede looked over and walked to the doorframe and smiled. "Ah, Okuro, Momiji. What brings you here so urgently?"

The tiny boy that had mistaken Kagome for Kikyou when she first arrived to the village was standing outside, the yellow, long-eared, rabbit-like angel hanging on his shoulder. Okuro took a deep breath and stood up, holding out a palm pilot to Kaede. "Message to you, Miko-sama!"

"It's from the Fourth Lord!" the tiny rabbit Momiji added, with a bit of awe and fear in his voice. For the ninth key to receive a message from a fourth key, especially one from Hell, was definitely awe-inspiring. 

Kaede immediately looked concerned. "From Sesshoumaru-sama?" she repeated, taking the palm pilot. Okuro stood on his tiptoes and used the electronic pen to get to the message for the old Ghost. She smiled. "Thank you Okuro." She turned around and nodded to the group inside the small shrine building. "Please be patient. I must read this in private." She requested before leaving. Myouga coughed and excused himself to follow the Ghost for the message. There was a bit of silence before Kagome decided to try and break it with a smile to the young child and his angel.

"So, Okuro-kun?" she said, getting the boy's attention. "Are you and Momiji Miko-sama's little messengers?"

Okuro smiled and nodded proudly. "My great, great nephew works for a big electronics company so Momiji and I have been helping out Miko-sama with her messages. She's old, so she's not very good with the new stuff."

"Okuro, show respect!" Momiji squeaked, lightly tapping the young boy on the head with an ear. 

"Great, great nephew?" Sango repeated. 

"Momiji, how long have you been here?" Shippo inquired. Momiji's large ears flopped clumsily forward as his eyes twinkled sadly. Okuro just sort of stared at his feet. 

"Okuro-kun?" Kagome asked. Now that she thought about it, Okuro had mistaken her for Kikyou. Even if the boy was training as to be a Ghost, and thus the regular one-year afterlife life-span wouldn't effect him, he should have least aged a little bit (Shippo had explained to her that for Ghosts and Ghost-in-trainings the years stretched out by a percentage of 83%. That meant they aged one year for around every eight years) And his aura felt… off. She had always thought it was because he was the closest protégé to the Ghost but now…

"I…" Okuro said very quietly. "I died of unnatural causes."

"A demon?" Inu-Yasha growled, suddenly in the conversation. Though Okuro did nothing Momiji nodded. Inu-Yasha's ears went back. "Naraku, wasn't it?"

"Inu-Yasha, Naraku doesn't have to do with everything!" Kagome scolded her angel. Inu-Yasha eyed her, snorting. "Wanna bet?" he said. "We're getting far too many kids like him," he nodded towards Okuro, "especially these days." 

"Like him…?" Sango repeated questioningly. Inu-Yasha refused to respond to that, even as Kagome remembered Rin, her near-death and her guardian angel's death and the effect it caused. What did Inu-Yasha mean, too many? How many angels were dying out there, leaving their tasks alone?

Inu-Yasha sniffed and looked closely at Momiji. "And you… you're not his angel, are you? You're…" the half-angel's eyes narrowed as he thought about it. "You're that little brat who used to always hang around the garden, aren't you?"

Momiji's tiny little rabbit nose twitched as his large ears flopped forward to cover his face. "I found Okuro after Naraku's first rebellion and… and I brought him here. I know I'm not an official guardian angel but Okuro's my friend!" he sniffed. "Okuro and I are going to become Ghosts together and we don't care what anybody says." Okuro nodded at this statement vigorously, having already made up his mind years before. 

Before anyone else could say anything Kaede re-entered the building, holding the palm pilot in her hand and looking grim. "What is it Kaede-sama?" Miroku asked, wondering what Inu-Yasha's uncle had to say to the ninth Ghost. Kaede shook her head and sat down in her old seat. Myouga also looked deep in thought. 

"Kaede-sama?" Kagome asked, a bit worried. Kaede sighed and looked up. "Inu-Yasha." She said, holding out the palm-pilot to the half-angel. "You're uncle has a message for you and I believe you should read it."

"Keh, what is it now?" Inu-Yasha frowned, reaching out and taking the electronic in his hand. Just as Inu-Yasha settled down again to begin reading the message Sesshoumaru had sent, Kagome suddenly felt the chill down her spine and sensed them.

Demons.

End Chapter 20

Chapter 20 done! Whee! It's wonderful! Li'l Momiji's just too cute, I had to stick him in there again. How can I not resist his adorable charm? (yeah, I realize the story's dragging around here. Don't worry, I'm picking it up!)

300 reviews! Ya! Happy 300-review day everyone! This calls for a party!  *brings out the Bishounens party guys* You know you want to come! ~_^ *parties*

Shout outs:

**Talon Skydragon:** Well, if you fall behind I don't mind as long as you review and make me feel better and raise my muses' ego ^^ And I love my Sesshy too *kuggles Sesshoumaru*

**Crystal Twilight:** Escaflowne is THE best anime of all time (Although IY is a rather close second) I love Escaflowne very, very much and I listen to the music all the time because Yoko Kanno's my idol and my friend and I are going to go and find some way to kidnap Von… but dubbed Inu-Yasha has the Escaflowne voices? *blink* And Miroku's Von? *more blinking* Now this I HAVE to see *runs to TV*

**Navi-zero:** Hurrah for KH! And if I told you about Kikyou, that's ruin it, wouldn't it? (and you're right, Ursula's a bitch! Grrr)

**violettegal345: **Thanks! I will!

Hey everyone, I have great news: a) I got my driver's licence, b) I got a job and c) I got a scanner! The first two mean driving and work (which means money ^_^) and the third means…. You guessed it! I can finally put the pages of the doujinshi up! I've got the cover page for the entire story and for Book 1 done already and the actual story is on it's way! If anybody's interested in seeing my struggle through the boredom of the holidays, please tell me! (and also, if anyone knows how to work the wondrous things known as 'Internet' and 'websites', please tell me! Otherwise I won't be able to get my pictures up for all to see!) See ya next week!

PS. I work at MacDonalds, for all those who were curious.

~Ama

Quotable-quote of the week: "Monkeys make horrible pets, which is why most women are single these days." – My friend, Neko Li


	21. Chapter 21: Invasion

Hey everyone! Another Monday, another chapter. Ye gods, I have exams next week. Ack! Well, I do only have one… =P Ah well, murder next semester so well…

Is it just me or is FFN having one of those months? It screw up, goes on again and off again and on again and off again. It's enough to make me go Ah! AH! *sigh* I'm okay now…

Oh and if Inu-Yasha seems a bit of an ass (more than usual) in this chapter then it's because I had a ratty day when I wrote it. Sorry.

And what you've all awaited! The explanation of how Kikyou got away is in this chapter! Well, sort of…

(by the way, if any of you notice, I know undetailed isn't a word. It just suited the purpose [realizes more people will now notice the word since she pointed it out])

Shout outs:

**Tsukinoko:** Yes, after giving Sesshoumaru a laptop I couldn't help but make the rest of them high-tech. *giggle* it's just so funny. And actually I did think about the whole cousin thing. But think about it: I never specified what cousins (example I look like I could be sisters with one of my –fifth- cousins) so we don't actually know how closely related they are. To save from ewwiness, let's say they're seventh cousins.

**Asha:** Isn't Kingdom Hearts the best!? (and howcome a lot of my reviews are more about KH these days…) I love Riku! He's a chibi Sephiroth! He's Sephiroth's child! Ha!

**link no miko:**  Isn't Sesshy the greatest? I love how he's so sarcastic and yet has no emotions… except in the anime with that one episode with Kagura where he showed mild irritation! It was great! And the RPG link you gave me was the greatest, I laughed so hard. It's so true.. (although thanks for ruining FF7 for me! Kidding) And my bad grammer… I'll have to fix that now won't I? Hey, maybe you can me my official unofficial editor!

**Ditto:** Wouldn't he though? I really want to see Sesshoumaru in a business suit.

That's all for now, since I'm pressed for time! GAH! I'll try to get to the rest of you later! Hope you enjoy the story!

Disclaimer: Sayakerbie! I don't own it and you know it!****

**Chapter 21:**

** Invasion**

_Ninth Ghost of Earth, Kaede_

_I am writing as a warning to you. No doubt my foolish nephew is there at your shrine and will probably hear of these circumstances sooner or later. I have warned him several times and he has not heeded me; if the Reborn had died, as many of us had suspected, it would be of his own fault and I feel nothing but sympathy to the girl. _

_However, as you may confirm, I feel the girl has survived the little ritual the Outcast has put her through. I received an interesting visitor lately, a very old acquaintance. I will not say who but I expect that you will meet some time in the near future. But my guest has lately been to the Outcast's domain and, while I was not able to obtain the location of his hiding, I have received distressing news. _

_He is planning war._

_I, the fourth Lord of Hell and demon ruler of the eastern domain, am powerful. No doubt more powerful then the foolish cretin who attempts war on all three existences but even I have my causes to worry. One who challenges the might of Heaven, Earth and Hell is either very foolish or very cunning. Despite what I may of heard of him he appears to have a silver tongue and has recruited many to his side. My guest has informed me of his tactics, and you should be warned: on the first night of the moon he will begin his assault on the mortals, beginning with the city Tokyo, Japan. His idea, or so I believe, is to weaken the mortals first, to gain their souls to his side, and then he will attack the higher realms. _

_Tell my foolish nephew to put aside his idiocies for once and look at this logically. If the Reborn is still alive and with him then no doubt the Outcast will try and obtain her in order to full harness the key-jewel. If my nephew wishes he should either meet him in Tokyo or wait a while and get stronger before facing the Outcast after he's done destroying the mortal realm. As for you, ninth Ghost, I suggest you relay this message to the other Ghosts and Guardians as quickly as possible and build your armies. I shall be doing the same. _

_May the third strike never come._

_Fourth Lord of Hell, Sesshoumaru_

Inu-Yasha snorted after finished the letter. "Can't that pansy ever write properly? He's using terms I've never heard of in my life! Who the hell was this 'visitor' and why the hell would Naraku attack Tokyo first? It makes more sense to attack the keys!"

"I take it 'the Outcast' is Naraku." Miroku said while Inu-Yasha fumed. Shippo nodded. "That's his name in Hell, since he failed the test to become a Lord and just caused havoc since then."

"What's the 'third strike'?" Sango asked, looking at the message over Inu-Yasha and Miroku's shoulder. Kaede shook her head and Myouga coughed. Sango looked at them expectantly. "Well? What is it?"

"Okuro." Kaede said abruptly, causing the small boy to look up. Kaede carefully took the palm pilot from Inu-Yasha, not without some complaints, and handed it to her messenger. "Go send this to the other twelve Ghosts and the fourteen Guardians. Warn them as soon as possible of Naraku's intentions."

"Hai, Miko-sama!" Okuro said brightly, taking the palm pilot and racing off, Momiji's long ears trailing behind him as the two of them disappeared. Myouga coughed and turned back to the group. "Distressing news indeed." He shook his head. 

"Old Man, can you understand any of the gibberish that freak was talking about?" Inu-Yasha frowning at Kaede for taking the message away without him to be able to fully decipher it. Myouga coughed again.

"Inu-Yasha-sama, that's no way to talk about an elder, a higher rank or a relative of your–"

"Shove it." Inu-Yasha interrupted irritably. "I don't want to hear your lectures."

Myouga bristled. "Inu-Yasha-sama, I understand that under these circumstances you become particularly edgy, Kami knows your father was worse, but that is no reason to take it out on me and further more–" 

"I said shove it!" Inu-Yasha barked, standing up. "Dammit, what's wrong with all you people these days! And baba, couldn't you have let me read that message a few more times? The hell, it's like you're all out to get me!" His ears flattened angrily and his nose twitched before he turned to storm out of the shrine. 

"Kaede-sama," Miroku turned to the Ghost after the silence following Inu-Yasha's explosive departure, "can angels have PMS?"

Everyone looked at Miroku after the rather unexpected question. Shippo backed away and hid behind Kagome while Sango raised an eyebrow and muttered 'pervert' under her breath. Kaede nearly rolled her eyes but refrained from it. Miroku smiled. "Sorry, had to ask. Inu-Yasha certainly has seemed edgy lately."

"Well, given the circumstances who can blame him?" Sango replied. "First Kagome-chan nearly dies, then Kouga comes for a visit and afterwards there was the Fourth Lord's strange letter. If I were Inu-Yasha I would probably be edgy too."

Miroku smiled and tried, unsuccessfully, to put an arm around her. "Yes my dear Sango, but instead you are kind, caring and beautifu– "

Sango continued the recent tradition of interrupting people by elbowing Miroku in the stomach. "Flattery will get you nowhere Houshi-sama."

"Well, one can try." Miroku sighed, returning to his previous position, rubbing his bruised stomach. Sango was about to reply when Shippo's voice interrupted the conversation. "Kagome? What's wrong?"

Everyone's attention was turned to Kagome as the girl, who had said nothing for a while and was looking rather pale, gave another shiver. Myouga and Kaede looked concerned as Kirrara hopped out of Sango's arms to stand beside the girl and look at her curiously, mewling. "Kagome-chan?" Sango asked, worried. Now what was wrong? 

Kagome closed her eyes and shook her head, putting a hand up to help clear the buzzing. She suddenly seemed to realize that everyone was talking to her and she looked around frightfully. "Demons." She told them in a hushed tone. "Lots of them. And one of them is really, really strong."

Kikyou couldn't help a smirk as she was led to the transporting room. Let Fourth Lord Sesshoumaru think what he wants but really he was just playing right into her hands. She had gotten what she wanted and what she wanted was to get out of Hell as fast as possible. Her plans had been ruined when she realized that Sesshoumaru was right and that she would never belong or be accepted back in Heaven, but he had given her a different purpose in what he had predicted to be a short life. Inu-Yasha was still alive and, ironically, had become a guardian angel. Why? Was he trying to become a Guardian, to dethrone her, to blind Heaven into giving him more power, like he had blinded her to get the Shikon no Tama?

She smiled bitterly at the thought. And she had so assumed that she had killed him. No, he was a threeblood and the most bothersome, annoying and filthy pests were always the hardest to kill. She looked up when a dim, blue light shone ahead, signalling her destination. The toad demon that was Sesshoumaru's underling stopped there and gave her a meaningful and disgusted look. She glared back at him as she walked past. Stupid little creature, thinking that she was the filthy one. He seemed to forget that she could destroy him with a single motion of her hand. 

Or she could. She paused and looked down at the clothing she was wearing, torn and dirtied from the battle to get out of Naraku's lair, clothing she had stolen from a body in the Outcast's den. Before, if she so desired, she could transform the clothes, bring up new ones, change her appearance with a single thought. But now…

_"Don't bother with your angelic powers now, Guardian Kikyou. They are useless in both this realm and that body. You are an angel's soul torn from a Reborn mortal and placed in a body made from the earth of Hell. Only what I say to work will work; you have become even worse than the threeblood."_

She shook her head angrily, banishing Naraku's mocking tone from her head. A stoic look on her face she turned to look at Jaken, who was just leaving. Noticing the undead angel's gaze on him suddenly, the toad demon stopped and tapped his spear impatiently. 

"What do you want?" he croaked boldly. "You can't change your mind now, you requested this and Sesshoumaru-sama granted it. These are his orders." 

Kikyou raised an arm, brining Jaken's attention to the torn and battered cloth of the sleeves. She almost smiled at the victory she won over the demon, when his features said that he hadn't a clue what to think about the argument she was putting up. In a soft voice she gave her request, in a politeness she knew would insult the toad. "May I have some new clothes please?"

Jaken snorted and turned around, his staff tapping against the stone cold floor. "Don't bother Sesshoumaru-sama with such questions. I'll go see if there's anything in the storeroom."

Again, Kikyou almost smiled at her second victory. This may turn out to be a good day after all.

 Kagura leaned against the wall of the room she was assigned into, nursing her wounds. Stupid angel bitch, shooting her like that, she thought angrily. Naraku should have seen that Kikyou wouldn't be happy when she was brought back to life. Now The Master's little Guardian was out there in Hell somewhere and should a Lord, or worse Him, find her then they were all doomed. All for a stupid little pink ball, she sighed. A stupid pink ball that was supposed to lend Naraku enough power to be able to control all three existences. If that was true why didn't they win four-hundred years ago? She pressed the bandage harder against her arm and winced. 

Naraku's plan had been working perfectly, so far, until the actual extraction of Kikyou's soul began. The Shikon no Tama almost seemed to recognize it's former master but it also recognized it's creator. The jewel, it's power split between the evil that created and the pure angel that held it, as well as the angel's Reborn that had it in her body for years, had cracked completely down the middle and split. Naraku had kept most of these shards, but one was placed inside Kikyou's body to bring her to life and another had disappeared, presumably returning back to the Reborn girl. Naraku, meanwhile, had acted calm as always, as if it was all part of the plan.

Of course, Kikyou's reaction when she woke up wasn't. From what Kagura gathered of Naraku's complex and very undetailed explanation Kikyou's soul and only Kikyou's soul was extracted from the Reborn's, meaning that either the Reborn was very strong, enough to hold onto her own soul, or she was so weak that she allowed Kikyou's soul to just slip right through. 

Either way, all hell broke loose. 

Kikyou had woken up, reliving her last few moments in death. When Naraku had tried to stop her she suddenly recognized him and tried to destroy him, only to find that her once invincible powers were now useless. So instead she threw a pot of fire at the demon and raced out of there. Kagura had been missing through most of the chaos caused, but when she arrived at Naraku's orders to stop Kikyou the angel had already managed to get some battle clothes and some weapons. She was fending off a good number of demons already with nothing but a staff and a bow, obviously living up to her reputation.

Kagura rubbed her wound again, grumbling. She and Kikyou had faced off one-on-one and the demon had obviously been winning when something had distracted her, somebody saying her name or something. And in that split second of distraction Kikyou had someone been able to call up enough strength to summon her powers, weak but still effective. So Kagura was out of commission and Kikyou escaped when the wind demon should have been the winner of the fight. Fate was bitter and cruel sometimes, Kagura thought grimly. 

The door opened, revealing her older sister Kanna. Kagura frowned, knowing it meant only one thing. Kanna looked up at Kagura, as if reading her thoughts, and nodded. "Naraku has summoned you."

Kagura grimaced but stepped forward, not giving her 'sister' a second glance. Kanna ignored Kagura as well, closing the door behind her before following the wind demon. 

Kagura walked down the halls until she reached the double doors that reached Naraku's lair. She reached forward and opened it, knowing that if she waited any longer Naraku would make it obvious that he sensed her presence and would just tell her to come in and she didn't feel like being insulted again. 

Naraku was seated in the middle of the floor, the bamboo pelt covering him again, the blue skull covering his eyes. The remaining shards of the key jewel, the Shikon no Tama, lay before him as if he wre organizing them. 

"Kagura, I am pleased to see you." He said, his voice echoing hollowly in the skull. Kagura truly wanted to tell her master where he aught to go but refrained herself from it. No matter how calm he appeared, Naraku was in one hell of a mood right now. 

"You wanted something?" She asked, playing with one of her fans while she watched Naraku careful pick up each shard before putting them back down. All that power and we never use it, she thought bitterly. The only thing she remember Naraku using it for was to bring herself and Kanna, as well as countless other demons, all dead now, to life. 

"Now Kagura, there's no need to be so rash." Naraku said, although his voice was close to hiss, indicating he wanted nothing of her attitude today. "I have a mission for you." He slowly picked up eight shards, seven small ones and an eighth slightly larger. "You know that the Shikon's power has the ability to bring mortals back to life…"

"…yes?" Kagura said, crossing her arms and frowning. Why was Naraku resorting to measures like bringing mortals back to life? Surely even lesser demons could do more damage, since the only mortals she knew strong enough would be…

"Eight brothers, seven old friends," Naraku said, indicating that Kagura hold out her hand and he dropped the shards into them, "one new acquaintance and old member. I believe you know of who I speak."

Kagura looked at the shards in her hand in surprise, disbelieving that Naraku could ever be so predictable. She had expected that he would do exactly what she expected, which she supposed was why he didn't. The front door's so obvious it's the least guarded, she remembered hearing once. 

"You'll find the old grave easy enough and the last isn't hard to find either." Naraku said, implying a dismissal of his underling. "No doubt if you go you will be sensed by the Reborn and the threeblood; bring some lesser demons to mask your intentions."

Kagura eyed the shards in her hand and nodded. "Yes… Master." She said after a slight pause. She turned around and left the room to go and get a pack of youkai to keep Inu-Yasha busy. Even if he wasn't completely versed in the old days he would have heard enough stories to guess her, or more particularly Naraku's, true plan. Even a threeblood like him wasn't that foolish, she thought while rolling the largest shard between her finger and thumb. She was just glad she wasn't on his side.

Sesshoumaru fitted the metallic covering onto his arm, attaching the clasps until the armour sat snugly. He flexed his fingers to test it out and nodded with satisfaction after making sure the metal claw tips easily sliced through the stone in front of him. Centuries ago he had lost his left arm in a battle with his younger half-brother and only many years and a lot of witchcraft later was he able to finally regenerate it. Still it had never felt right and he, though a master swordsman, always felt more comfortable to use his armoured arm for more brutal hand-to-hand combat. 

He carefully made sure that the weight was balanced and that everything was in perfect order before he turned his attention to the other small demons in the armoury with him. The servants were busy polishing and cleaning up his armour and began to work faster and harder when they felt his eyes on them. Unfazed Sesshoumaru walked by them and out of the armoury, heading towards the weapons room. 

An old, humanoid demon was inside the room, polishing the two swords of the Fourth Lord with care and ease. His large round eyes blinked in the firelight as he turned towards Sesshoumaru, never pausing in his work. 

"As good as the day they were made." The youkai said, indicating the Toukijin sword with a wave of his hand before going back to the handiwork on Tenseiga. "You'll get no trouble with these swords on the battlefield."

"That is what I would expect, blacksmith." Sesshoumaru said, feeling the evil blade in his hand before returning it to it's sheath. "This will be a long battle and I, Sesshoumaru, will need all the power one can muster."

"Your nephew as well." The demon said, squinting down his beaky nose at the sword he was holding as he smoothened out at blemish. "Don't forget him."

Sesshoumaru made no comment as he took Tenseiga back from the craftsman. Jaken suddenly stumbled into the room, tapping his staff against the wall cautiously. 

"The witch has left, Sesshoumaru-sama." Jaken said nervously, all boldness gone in front of the Lord. Sesshoumaru nodded and turned to the blacksmith. "I shall be taking my weapons now. See to it that you are done in time for the first night of the moon." He paused before continuing. "And as for my nephew…"

The demon eyed him and nodded sagely. "You know what I'm talking about. Even an old fool like me, trapped in the bowels of Hell can see that history is repeating itself."

"Not completely." Sesshoumaru said as if fed up with the conversation, taking both his swords and turning to leave. "This time I, Sesshoumaru, will be in the war as well."

"We shall see." The old demon said, picking up a piece of steel to continue his work of supplying the Fourth Lord's armies with sufficient weapons. "Fate always has different plans in store."

Inu-Yasha kicked another rock into the forest, snorting with satisfaction when it cracked the branch of a tree. Stupid… stupid… hells, stupid everything. His uncle probably set the fucking letter just to screw him up; Sesshoumaru seemed like that kind of sick person. Bastard didn't even know how to write properly. And a third strike, yeah like that was ever going to happen. Stupid….

He slumped against a tree and kicked another rock into the woods, although it missed any of it's given targets. He didn't even know why he was getting so worked up anyway. Well, first that filthy bastard Naraku tried to kill Kagome by sucking out her soul… Inu-Yasha claws clenched as he vowed to kill Naraku slowly for that one and see how he'd like it. Trying to hurt Kagome like that, he certainly was asking for it. 

Of course, there was also what he was using it for, a tiny little voice in Inu-Yasha's mind added. He snorted again but couldn't help feeling worried. If Kagome was right and Kikyou was alive then that would mean that she was with Naraku, wasn't she? First Guardian knows what he might be doing to her, no matter what devious purposes he needed her for. Inu-Yasha's eyes hardened; all the more reason to kill that asshole.

"Inu-Yasha! Inu-Ya-sha!" Kagome's voice snapped him out of his funk as he turned around, startled by the worry in her voice. She nearly ran into him as he grabbed her arm and looked at her worriedly. "Kagome? What is it?" he asked, stunned by the panic in her tone. 

"Demons!" Miroku answered for her as he, Sango and their angels came running up as well, ready for battle. "Kagome-sama sensed them nearby. And one of them is quite strong."

"Aw hells." Inu-Yasha swore, turning to his task. "Where are they?" he asked. Kagome shook her head. 

"I'm not exactly sure…" she faltered. "All I know is that they're that way." She pointed to the east as everyone followed her gaze. "There's a few that are really, really close by… I'd say about twenty of them… the rest are… are closer to…"

"Tokyo." Inu-Yasha finished for her. "Shit, he was right."

End Chapter 21

Okay, so I sort of explained how Kikyou got out… that's probably the best you're gonna get, so think of some other ways Kikyou could of ran off. I'm not exactly sure how she got away.

Where's Sesshoumaru gone? Who's graves did Naraku send Kagura to dig up? What's Kikyou planning? And will poor Kagome ever get a break? Stayed turned for Chapter 22: Reunion where these and other questions will (hopefully) be answered!

Oh, and I'm working on getting a website up, for all of you doujinshi-nazis out there. It should be up by next Friday. Should be. 

Peace. I'm on far too much medication right now bleh….

~Ama

Quote of the week: "Who needs real men when you can have anime?" – a smart rule to live by


	22. Chapter 22: Reunion

Hey everyone and nice to see you all again. I hope you enjoy tonight's show of _Guardian Angel_, bringing you action, adventure, romance and a stupid half-angel who doesn't know when to listen. 

Another hard week at the office, man it's a tough one I tell you. But school's almost out for exams and then it's another week of blissful holidays, where hopefully I'll get my act together and actually finish two extra chapters of this story. (note to self, bribe impatient readers with much leftover Christmas candy)

The front door saying that Miroku says in this chapter is a real quote from a karate class one of my friends went to (and dragged me along) and we started discussing ninjas. Amazing the things you learn.

Shout outs:

**Navi-Zero:** I haven't gotten that far in Kingdom Hearts yet. To tell you the truth, the only PS2 item I own is a memory card. I go to my friends houses to pay the games ^_^. But from what my friends' been telling me (and she sucks at video games) then I'm sure he'll be a tough cookie. 

**Wizardess Gal:** Sorry about the cliffhangers (…not). Keeps you reading though =P

**WarriorGL** I'll try to get those pictures emailed to you, as soon as I figure it out. Unfortunately I have the technical skills of a lemur, but I'm learning!

**KevinEC:** Another hooked on my story… excellent…. (and what's wrong with doujinshis?)

**Ronagu-chan:** Whew, I'm going to have to start counting the doujinshi fans to see how much time off I have to put. And for actually –seeing- it, see below

**Leina:** Hmm… good question…

Disclaimer: Woort.

**Chapter 22:**

** Reunion******

****

"Inu-Yasha, are you sure this is wise?" Miroku asked, running to keep up with the half-angel as they raced through the forest. Inu-Yasha's mind was clearly made up as he nodded in response, tightening his grip on Kagome's legs as he ran through a tree. 

"Hell yeah." He growled some incoherent curse under his breath as he gave up running and just started flying ahead at top speed, giving Miroku more work to keep up with him. "If Naraku's planning war on a mortal city, especially one this big, then it means he's not just hitting one plane. He's going for the living mortals too."

"But that's against every code in any book ever written!" Shippo squealed from his seat with Kagome. "I can't believe Naraku's that crazy! If they ever catch him he's dead meat!"

"If they caught him before he'd be dead meat, brat, now it's just worse." Inu-Yasha snapped. "He's been on the wanted list for centuries. He's responsible for one and a half of the apocalypses and _because_ attacking living mortals is against the codes no one would have suspected this. I still want to know how Sesshoumaru found out."

Kagome straightened up and looked dead ahead to the edge of the forest, where they were heading. "Inu-Yasha…"

"Naraku is the kind of evil that is so predictable that he's unpredictable." Miroku continued with the conversation. "There's an old saying 'the ditches may be guarded but the front door never is' that basically means that everyone's tried so hard to guard and protect all the littlest and sneakiest ways of getting into the house that the robber just has to walk though the front door, where you'd never expect one to come because it's so obvious."

"And the same with Naraku." Sango added from the back of Kirrara. "He's gotten everyone so worried that he's going to try some backhanded move to get what he wants that right now he's merely attacking head on, something they're not ready for."

"Inu-Yasha…"

Miroku shook his head. "I just hope we get there in time before he does anything drastic, especially with the number of demons that Kagome's sensed."

"Damn straight." Inu-Yasha snorted. "And I still want to know how the hell Sesshoumaru knew about this. It's fucking annoying!"

"Inu-Yasha…"

Miroku looked thoughtful for a moment. "But still, why now? After all, he's had many chances to do it, but now seems a most inopportune time, especially if someone knows of his location and plans. And if he's had the Shikon no Tama for over a month now then why didn't he use it to get to the mortal plane instead of waiting around and – "

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome suddenly shouted, pulling on her guardian's hair. "Sit!"

Inu-Yasha fell to the ground with a muffled crash, as Miroku and Kirrara slowed down to a halt and trotted back to where the dog-eared angel was glaring at his task. Inu-Yasha pushed himself up and swung around to face Kagome. 

"What the hell was that for, wench?" he shouted and Kagome crossed her arms. 

"If you had listened to me earlier then I wouldn't have done that and I wouldn't have to tell you that you have about three seconds before a giant demon comes crashing through those trees to kill us all."

Inu-Yasha blinked for a second until realization came to him. "Oh."

Kirrara snarled and whipped around as Sango jumped off of her and got her boomerang ready. Miroku quickly got his staff while Shippo stayed with Kagome, a fearful but determined look on his face. Inu-Yasha quickly jumped up and turned to face the threat that Kagome had predicted.

Ever since Kagome was a little girl she had always had nightmares and would get frightened during the day, telling her mother that demons were around. Of course, her mother had always accepted that Kagome was just getting influenced by their crazy grandfather who believed everything was a demon and she never did do anything about it. Even Inu-Yasha, silently protecting Kagome and quite bored while doing so, dismissed most of the nightmares and day-frights as superstition set on by her grandfather since he never sensed anything. Now that he thought about it, Kagome probably just ignored the feelings herself as she grew older and he never noticed, although there were the times she was right. Now that she was dead she detected them perfectly every time. 

He was starting to hate it when Kagome was right. 

The oni was about 9 feet tall, bumpy, yellow, covered with horns and spikes and very, very, very ugly. In one hand it carried a club, in the other it carried an axe. It's tiny black eyes watched them as it let out a roar, saying something in demon about 'me kill puny ones' and then stomped forward to do the damage it promised. Inu-Yasha cracked his knuckles and got in a ready stance. "Kagome, back up. I don't want you getting hurt."

"Inu-Yasha, I can fight too!" Kagome argued and Inu-Yasha turned to look at her, his amber eyes flashing. 

"I'm not saying this twice! Get out of here and fast! This isn't your fight!" With that he turned around and ran forward to get the oni. "Hey big and ugly! Over here!" he darted in to land a punch before darting out again and stopping on the other side of his opponent, claws ready. 

Kagome glared at her guardian. First he tells her to go and hide somewhere and then he adds insult to insult by trying to lead the oni away from her. She crossed her arms and frowned. Well she wasn't going to stand around and let him do that. 

"Kagome, let's go!" Shippo squealed from on her shoulder, tugging on her collar. Kagome shook her head and patted the small angel before concentrating on bringing up a bow and arrows. Shippo tugged on Kagome's collar again. "Kagome, leave this to the others!"

"Why's that, Shippo-chan?" Kagome winked before bringing an arrow to the bowstring. "Why should Inu-Yasha have all the fun?" 

Inu-Yasha darted underneath a tree branch as the oni swung it's heavy club towards his head, roaring. Grinning, the half-angel sprung into the air and sliced a deep gash along the demon's right eye. Roaring in pain the oni swung madly, striking out at anything that moved. 

Sango caught the oni on it's lower jaw with Hiraikotsou and she quickly retrieved her weapon as Kirrara jumped nimbly out of the way of the oni's mad swings. As another of Inu-Yasha's attacks distracted it she swung the boomerang with full force to crack off one of the ugly horns protruding from it's head, with an ease born out of the constant deflection of a certain hand. 

"At least the monk's good for something." She said with a smile as Kirrara veered around for another attack. 

Miroku was offering his own, more subtle help to the battle. He stood off to one side, leaning against a tree and murmuring into one hand. Inu-Yasha shot a glare at him while ducking a wild swing of the axe. "Oi, bouzo! Get out here and do something!" When Miroku gave no answer the half-angel snorted and jumped back up to give big, dumb and ugly an uppercut on the nose. 

Suddenly a small piece of paper flew past the dog-angel, causing him to react in mid-air. The paper struck the oni in the center of it's forehead and began burning, causing the youkai to drop it's weapons and try to pull the offending charm off. Inu-Yasha smirked as he landed and glanced over at Miroku. The monk grinned and gave the 'peace' sign.

The oni was now on one knee, completely blinded and invulnerable to attacks. Inu-Yasha pulled out Tetsusaiga and grinned, ready for the final blow. Suddenly, from nowhere, the demon's head just exploded and disintegrated in a flash of glowing light, as the rest of it's body disintegrated as well. As the light died down everyone stared at where the oni was standing in stunned silence.

"What the fuck?" Inu-Yasha sputtered, sheathing his sword. "What the hell just happened there?"

"Cool!" A voice shouted and everyone looked over at Kagome as she ran up and picked up her arrow from where it had destroyed the demon. "I didn't know I could do that!"

Shippo, who was sitting on Kagome's shoulder, glanced over at Inu-Yasha and caught the guardian angel's death glare – aimed right at him. The tiny fox child squealed and hid himself behind Kagome. 

"Don't hurt me I couldn't do anything and she did this on her own please don't hurt me!" He squeaked in nearly incoherent babble. 

"Shut up, brat." Inu-Yasha said, coming over to Kagome. "Oi, I told you to stay out of trouble!"

Kagome raised an eyebrow, looking at Inu-Yasha darkly before standing up and causing the bow and quivers to disappear. "I did stay out of trouble. I was far enough away that the oni couldn't reach me and I didn't get hurt or kidnapped this time." She smiled at her guardian, who ears were laid back from the insult. Inu-Yasha sniffed the air a few times and his ears lay flatter on his head as he glanced into the forest and then back at his task.

"Listen wench, I'm your angel so do as I fucking say, alright?" He growled. Shippo wondered if he was going to die and he curled up into as tight a ball as possible as he hid in Kagome's arms. 

Sango sighed and changed back into her regular clothing, shaking her head. "This is going to become another one of their quarrels, isn't it?"

"How many sits do you believe this one will end up with?" Miroku asked, politely making conversation. Sango shrugged. 

Kagome couldn't stop grinning and it took every ounce of willpower she had not to laugh when she tapped her irritated guardian on the nose. "You're just jealous because you didn't get to kill it."

Inu-Yasha blinked a few times, crossed-eyed as he tried to follow the finger that had tapped his nose. Then his eyes narrowed, and focused, again and he growled. "What the hell do you take me for, a f –" He stopped dead, his ears swivelled completely around behind him. Kagome had froze too, and Shippo looked up when he felt Kagome go stiff. "Kagome?"

Inu-Yasha and Kagome looked at each other, nodded, and in a flash Kagome was on Inu-Yasha's back as the angel tore through the woods. Miroku and Sango turned around to watch them disappear, startled by the sudden action. They looked fearfully at each other and quickly Sango jumped onto Kirrara, transforming back into her battle uniform. After a second's hesitation she glanced over at Miroku. 

"Houshi-sama, get on." She said quickly, as if she were cursed to change into something nasty if she spoke coherently.  Miroku looked at her confusedly. "Pardon, Sango-chan?"

"We have to catch up to Inu-Yasha and Kagome-chan quickly and Kirrara runs faster. Get on, hurry." Sango said quickly again, trying to force away the red coming to her cheeks. Miroku smiled and happily hopped on behind Sango. 

"Ah Sango-chan, it would be my pleasure to ride with you…" he trailed off when he saw the look Sango was giving him. 

"Try anything and I will practice more of Hiraikotsou's moves on you, Houshi-sama." She said dangerously. Miroku gulped and nodded. 

"Certainly, I understand."

"Good." Sango said and quickly Kirrara took off into the air. The feline angel shot through the forest at impressive speeds, until the two mortals riding her back could make out the red, white and black silhouette of Inu-Yasha and Kagome. Kirrara banked to the left and came around full circle, landing opposite of the half-angel and his task. 

Inu-Yasha was down on the ground, sniffing, ears perked forward to catch every bit of sound. Kagome was holding Shippo, who was looking very confused, and looking around the clearing, trying to find something. As Sango and Miroku got off of Kirrara Inu-Yasha snorted and stood up. 

"It's her alright but I can't tell what's going on. Seems like she was looking for something." He growled and sniffed the air a few times. "And the damn wind's too calm! I can't pick up anything!"

"What is it, Kagome-chan?" Sango asked as Inu-Yasha picked up some dirt and sniffed it again. Kagome blinked and looked over at Sango. "Eh? Oh, it… it was Kagura. She was here."

"The minion of Naraku?" Miroku asked, coming up beside them. Kagome nodded and Miroku looked thoughtful. "That's strange. I wonder if she had anything to do with that large oni we just fought."

"No doubt about that, the ugly shit-head had Naraku's smell on 'im, faint but there." Inu-Yasha said, joing the group and glaring at the sky. "Dammit. What was she doing?"

Kagome shook her head. "I'm not sure. Though it looks like she was looking for something."

"The question is, what?" Miroku mused aloud. Inu-Yasha snorted and folded his arms. "Stupid bitch." He muttered under his breath then glanced up at the sky. "It's going to be night soon so if Naraku's sending demons after us then he knows we're coming. If we keep moving then he'll get us for sure, especially if Kagura knows we're here." He surveyed the area. "We'll keep moving for another while and then make camp. There should be a grove of rocks around here, if I remember this area." He picked up Kagome and nodded to Sango, Miroku and Kirrara. "Let's get moving before Naraku's goonies come find us before we're ready."

The others nodded and followed behind the half angel as he started running through the woods. Inu-Yasha's ears were trained back, as he thought frustratingly of the smell he had gotten from the clearing and where he remembered it from.

Kagura landed in the river back, hovering just above the water to avoid getting even the feeling of wetness on her feet. Wrinkling her nose she impatiently gestured as some of the lower youkai that they get the bones out the ground quickly. 

So they defeated the oni she thought musingly, having heard the commotion and leaving the clearing where she retrieved the remains just in time. As she watched the small creatures digging through the ground she counted the small containers she had filled; five, meaning after this there was one left until she went to Tokyo to retrieve the final one. She rattled the sixth container impatiently, watching the demons pull a small bone out of the ground. 

"That will do." She said, picking it up and hastily dropping it into it's carrier before closing the lid. "Now hurry up," she snapped, "we have one more to go."

"Collecting something, Kagura?" The wind demon froze as a voice behind her spoke in a sarcastic tone. She frowned, recognizing it, and turned around. "Well, if it isn't the wolf whelp." She sneered. 

Kouga snorted but made no move, standing there with his arms crossed and his blue irises sparkling dangerously. "I heard you were attacking Tokyo."

"I'm not, Naraku is." Kagura sniped back, pulling out her feather. "You have a problem, deal with him."

Kouga smiled viciously. "But my problem's with you, bitch. You're the own that wiped out half my clan."

"Shame that I wiped out most the females too." Kagura said sarcastically wistful. "Or you horny little bastards would have just bounced right back in numbers, wouldn't you?"

Kouga's eyes narrowed and he started growling. "Take that back."

"Why?" Kagura taunted and Kouga freed his hands, claws flexing. 

"Take that back or I'll make you take it back." He said more menacingly. Kagura raised an eyebrow but did nothing. Kouga crouched. "That does it, I'm going to rip you apart right here!"

"_Ryujin no mai_!" Kagura whipped out her fan and knocked Kouga aside, as she quickly boarded her feather ship. "Goodbye, little wolf!"

Kouga wiped the blood from his mouth and glared up at the tiny, vanishing speck that was Kagura. "Damn…" he muttered, standing up and brushing himself up. He would et her… at some point.

"Hello? Hello? Hello-o-o!" The small girl ran down the corridors, peeking into rooms and disappointedly finding them empty. A frown on her face, Rin continued her search for somebody, anybody, to have a conversation with. As sweet and tolerable as she was, one could only stand Jaken's croaking voice repeating 'shut up' for so long. "Hello?"

She poked her head into one room that was noisy, figuring noise meant life. Her eyes lit up when she saw the old demon, working relentlessly away at the metal weapons he was fabricating for the war. "Good morning Ji-sama!" the undead girl called cheerfully, walking into the blacksmith room.

"Eh?" the demon looked up at the blinked at her with his huge eyes. "Ah, the girl. Good morning? Is that what time it is? You can never tell in this insufferable dungeon. Oi, girl, don't touch that!"

Rin was studying a curved, ornamental dagger with a wolf's skull on the hilt and a strange design on the blade. At the blacksmith's warning she put it down, but taking her time. "What is it?" she asked.

"That," the demon reached over a long arm and pulled it closer towards himself and out of the reach of the girl, "is for Sesshoumaru-sama. It has no war purpose but it serves as fearsome decoration and, should he need it, acts as a second weapon."

"Oh…" Rin watched the blade reflect the firelight in flickering patterns. 

"Rin! Rin! Where are you! Oh dammit, Seshsoumaru-sama's going to have my head for this.. Rin!" Jaken scampered past the blacksmith before retreating back and glaring in. "Rin!" he snapped. "What are you doing in here! Sesshoumaru told you that you couldn't wander!"

"I'm talking to Ji-sama." Rin said, sticking her tongue out at Jaken, who glared back at her. "He's better than smelly ol' Jaken!"

"Stupid mortal." Jaken grumbled before turning his glare and spite on the smithy. "And you! Get back to work! Sesshoumaru-sama needs those weapons for the war at the new moon!"

The old demon matched Jaken glare for glare. "Jaken-sama, I believe you're taking your position too much for granted. I am not forced to do everything you say and I have already created suitable weaponry for Sesshoumaru-sama's army twicefold."

Jaken grumbled. "If you hadn't crossed Sesshoumaru-sama you wouldn't be stuck down here in chains!" he rattled the demon's bindings meaningfully with his staff. "You're just lucky Sesshoumaru-sama isn't putting you on the battlefield!" he countered. 

The blacksmith smiled. "That is because I have a use. You, however, stay here because you would be an ever bigger burden in the war."

Jaken's jaw dropped open at the bold insult and Rin giggled. Clamping his mouth shut  Jaken glared at the demon and the girl and turned around to waddle out. "Four days! Remember that! Everything must be done in four days!"

"Stupid smelly ol' Jaken." Rin giggled again, sticking her tongue out at the demon's back. The blacksmith nodded and smiled. 

"Rin! Get out here now!"

Rin made a face and sighed. "Oh fine. "Bye-bye Ji-sama!" She trotted off after her babysitter and began up another conversation, just to see Jaken go over the edge again for her amusement. The blacksmith smiled, shook his head and resumed working on the armoury. 

"Here we are." Inu-Yasha said, putting Kagome down. It was a pile of rocks, stacked together to form a small shelter, with moss growing in between the cracks and sure signs of weathering. "We'll stay here for the night."

Miroku sat down and leaned against the rock, sighing. "The good part about being a spirit is that we don't need a fire or food for this little camp out. Which means a lot less work."

"Lazy bum." Shippo muttered.

"But we still have to rest or else we'll run out of energy." Sango pointed out, resting against. Kirrara. Miroku nodded. "True, true." He agreed. 

"I'll keep first watch." Inu-Yasha volunteered. "Everyone else get a lot of rest, since we'll be at Tokyo tomorrow. Especially you Kagome." He said pointedly to his task. 

Kagome leaned against the rock, frowning at Inu-Yasha as he leaped to the top of the structure to keep a lookout. He had been treating her way to delicately lately and it was time he stopped. She sighed and closed her eyes, holding onto Shippo as the tiny kit curled up on her lap and soon fell asleep. A shuffling noise, squeak, and a slapping noise signalled that Miroku and Sango had made they're agreement for the night. Kagome felt herself drifting off as well. Using all that energy in that fight, especially after her sickness… but still, it was no reason for Inu-Yasha to treat her like she was glass. She sighed, feeling a strange tingle before realizing that it was just her own aura… getting tired sure screwed her up…

Inu-Yasha frowned as everyone fell asleep, his ears twitching this was and that as he watched the sliver moon. Only four more days and Naraku was giving all out war. But now they had warning, from a mysterious visitor to his half-uncle, who's identity Inu-Yasha was starting to suspect. He was beginning to think that maybe he should have just stayed an exterminator. 

He sniffed the air, stiffening. He quickly glanced back and saw the demon flit into the trees. Growling, Inu-Yasha quickly checked to make sure none of them were near the group and he dove into the woods. Running at top speed he followed the scent of the youkai unti he reached it's destination. There were about twenty of them, glowing silver creatures, all sitting on one tree. Inu-Yasha clenched his claws, preparing for an assault when he heard a noise behind him. Quickly he whirled around to face the attacker. 

He blinked when he recognized the scent, but growled anyway. He knew that they were her demons, but he didn't know she was here as well. He stood ready, unsure of what he should do. This could be a trick, but it was also so close to the real thing…

Kikyou smiled as she leaned against the tree, amused at the half-angel's reaction. "Now, now Inu-Yasha, no need to be such a scared little puppy. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

End chapter 22

_Important notice:_ Okay, I know a lot of you want to see the artwork that goes along with this story and the doujinshi as well. Well, I tried to make a website to post them up for your viewing pleasure but… well… my habit is when I'm trying something out I do crap to figure everything and then I do the good copy. But that doesn't work well with geocities. To see my poor attempt at a website, visit [www.geocities.com/talon6482/shoki_de_nekosho_ni.html][1] Don't worry, it won't take up much time. So, anyone who wants to see the cover art the the first few pages of the doujinshi I have done, give me your email address and I'll try to send them to you. If you have Photoshop that would be best, and if you have a mac I'l… figure that out. And another thing, points and candy to whomever can help me out with posting it up on the world wide web. ^_^

In other news!

More Shout outs:

**Sirithlothien: **Yes, mighty good quote, is it not? I have it in big letters on the top of my locker. My male friends don't approve (pph, I wonder why?)

**Link no miko:** That's okay, although I haven't actually _gotten_ to that point in FF7 yet (I'm playing, I'm playing!) I knew, before I even knew what FF7 was, that… that person dies (will not spoil it for others, although probably a moot point) so it doesn't matter. Ah, Wonderland in KH (will that topic ever die?) I remember that. Donald keeps dying for me. From now on in big battles I just let Goofy do everything (Donald dies in the first, like, ten seconds) and I get to work on what I'm supposed to do. Goofy's strong! It's surprising… And I tried to explain Kikyou, I truly did! It just wasn't coming out right so I just decided to leave it so that you would come to your _own_ conclusions. And I don't think anyone knows who Naraku's after, so you're not alone (and a Link doujinshi? Wanna trade?)

**Claira: **you spent 8 hours reading this? *blinkblink*… *blinkblink*… Woah. I didn't know my fic was so AWESOME and so WOW. Look out world! Ama's gonna be the next JKRowling! (I hope not. I don't feel like being on welfare)

**Crystal Twilight:** It is a good rule to live by. Anime bishes are by all means the only ones we need. Why bother with anyone else? And if you ever need a bish, just give Ama's House 'o' Bishes a call (my address is on the other pages.. somewhere)

**Tsukinoko:** Yeah, I think seventh cousins works out fine. And like I said before, I look more closely related to my fifth cousin than my sister, so it's all relative. And besides that, just don't think about. 

**Fate:** isn't it though?

**Rosz of the Angel:** Why did it take you so long to read my story? Why? Am I not good enough? *reads rest of review* scratch that. And there's LOTS more to come. I'm estimating at about 52 chapters now… meep. And you're close on Naraku's plans, but no cigar… (I gave thee a hint there)

~Ama

Saying/anecdote of the week: (this actually happened yesterday) I'm just starting training at MacDonald's and a woman ordered a parfait and I didn't know where the button was on the cash so I had to ask my trainer. When I was finished with everything the woman said "So Amanda, first day on the job?" I just blinked and looked at her then said: "How did you know… OH! I have a nametag!" Needless to say my co-workers kept calling me 'nametag' after that. My boss that it was really funny. _***

   [1]: http://www.geocities.com/talon6482/shoki_de_nekosho_ni.html



	23. Chapter 23: Time

Disclaimer: Wonka

And again, forwards to the next chapter of Guardian Angel! Will Inu-Yasha screw things up, yet again? Will Kagome get kidnapped, yet again? Will everyone die while Inu-Yasha's gone because he's stupid? What's Sesshoumaru doing with his free time? And what of Naraku? What are _his_ evil plans, regarding those mysterious bodies he's chased Kagura to dig up? These questions probably won't get answered (except the first ^^) in the next chapter, but I decided to put them up anyway!

Shout outs:

**Chri:** Inu-Yasha realize that running off gets Kagome kidnapped? Please, realization is a form of learning and we all know how well our little puppy fares at _that_ task. =P

**Tanuki-chan:** Romance between Kouga and Kagura? *bewildered look* I have honestly never heard of that one in my born days. Maybe I shouldn't do such a thing just for your punishment of not reading my story in such a long time! *laughs maniacally* =P But hey, if you beg enough I may just put it in if it fits. After all, there's still room in further chapters for improvement and tweaking. (That doesn't mean I'm taking all requests… just some of them…)

**Talon skydragon:** Yes, I just had to put a random scene with Rin in it in the last chapter. It was also a way just to give you guys a look of what's going on in Hell (since Naraku's mysteriously disappeared from the chapters… I can never find a suitable place to put his part in _*) And if that's your reaction to Kikyou you're not going to like the next chapter. And thanks for the helpings on the html bit. It actually makes sense! I'll still be emailing the pics for now, but I should have the simple, simple website up soon. Hopefully…

**Fate:** I can think of far worse insults than 'scared little puppy' *evil grin*

**WarriorGL:** Miroku's your favourite character? I have to admit, compared to other anime lechers he's not bad (at least he asks them indirectly to sleep with him, rather than some others *cough*SorcererHunter'sCarrot*cough*) but he's still a lech. Ah well, I suppose I can't blame you. At least he has emotions. I can count on one hand how many times Sesshoumaru has shown emotion (and indifferent boredom doesn't count) And everyone had their bad points in drawing, especially someone else's style. For me it's Jaken. He's impossible. (and more of Ama's website coming up! Next time: what I _don't_ like!)

**Violet:** Why you… I oughta hunt you down and call –you- nametag! Leave me alone! It's not my fault!

**Chapter 23: **

**Time**

"K-Kikyou?" Inu-Yasha said, bemused. "What are you doing here? I thought… you weren't… why are you…?"

"You're stammering again." Kikyou smirked and Inu-Yasha snapped his mouth shut, ears back. Kikyou chuckled and lifted a hand, letting one of the glowing, serpent-like youkai rest lightly on her wrist. "How long has it been, exactly?"

Inu-Yasha tried to cover his surprise by shrugging. "200 years, I think."

"Two-hundred years…" Kikyou echoed, smiling simply and letting her hand rest back at her side after the demon took flight again. "My, how time flies when you're dead."

Inu-Yasha leaned against a tree, quickly making sure it wasn't close to the tree the youkai were nesting on at the moment. He cleared his throat and tried to gain his composure as he crossed his arms. "Kikyou, what are you doing here? I mean… you are dead…"

"I was dead." The former Guardian corrected. "But I've been brought back to life by the most uncanny of all of them."

"Naraku." Inu-Yasha growled, his ears folding back once again. 

Kikyou shrugged, an indifferent look on her face. "Yes, it was in fact Naraku. In fact not only did he resurrect me but he filled me in on recent happenings. You're a guardian angel now, aren't you? Seventh task, right?"

Inu-Yasha shifted uncomfortably. He didn't like leaving Kagome and the others asleep, alone, for so long. "Kikyou, I don't see-"

"Guarding a Reborn too, I've been told." She said, catching his attention. Inu-Yasha quickly tried to hide his shock but the sly, undead angel caught it and a tiny smirk caught at the corner of her lips. "So I was right. Am I also right to believe when I was told that the Reborn is… _my_ Reborn?"

Inu-Yasha gulped. Shit. Shit, shit, damn, fuck, shit. He knew Kikyou well enough from when she had been alive and she was sneaky at finding things out, especially from him. He knew she was digging for something but he'd never know what for until he eventually gives in and finds out for himself. But now that she was here, and Kagome was here, and the third strike was four days away from happening… shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.

Kikyou smiled coldly. "You're a horrible liar Inu-Yasha and you're even worse when you try to cover up completely. I still don't know why they didn't kick you out. Especially when you're wanted for murder."

Inu-Yasha's head shot right up when he heard that and he blinked at Kikyou in shock. "What?"

Kikyou's expression turned dark. "You remember, don't you? Two-hundred years surely couldn't have fuddled your brain of that."

Inu-Yasha thought for a second before his eyes widened with shock and realization. He shook his head quickly, waving his hands. "Kikyou, no! I didn't… that wasn't… it wasn't… it was…"

"Inu-Yasha, shut up." Kikyou nearly hissed and Inu-Yasha did so. The former Guardian walked right up to the half-angel and put her hands against his chest, pushing him against the tree with immense strength, her eyes glaring hatred at him when they had been laughing a moment ago. "Nothing you say will change my mind. I don't know how you managed to brainwash the other Guardians up there but I know the truth: you're a murderer, a liar and a thief; a worthless threeblood!"

Inu-Yasha struggled but the angel was surprisingly strong and was holding him fast against the tree. "Kikyou, it wasn't me! It was Naraku who killed you! Naraku, using me!"

Kikyou eyed him for a moment before loosening her grip on him. "Why should I believe you?"

Inu-Yasha put a hand to his throat and coughed, quickly trying to think of how to word his answers. "Kikyou, it's me. We've lived together for over 200 years before… before that! Sure I was an ass-"

"Understatement of the year." Kikyou scoffed. "You were foul-mouthed and violent as well as an ass. I'm surprised I didn't see it before."

Inu-Yasha frowned at her and continued. "No matter how much of an ass I was I would never hurt you! It wasn't me who killed you that night! I – I mean… it was me but it wasn't… wasn't _me_… you know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

Kikyou didn't look convinced and she crossed her arms, holding up three fingers. "Three." She said. "You have three minutes to explain yourself. Then you die."

Sesshoumaru fiddled with the armour on his left arm again, flexing his fingers to make sure it fitted right, his impatience beginning to show as he glared at his computer screen. Naraku's attack was in three nights and he, Fourth Lord of Hell, was forced to train minimally and gather his troops in small forces so the Outcast would not be warned that they knew of his plans. Granted, Naraku was resourceful and probably already knew they had received the information; in fact it was very well reasonable that the whole plan had been set up and Kikyou was intended to escape. Sesshoumaru clenched his armoured claw around a stone and crushed it satisfyingly with one squeeze. 

His dark eyes suddenly flitted to the side and he straightened, turning to the demon behind him. The demon was dressed in a general's war armor, the Fourth Lord's crest on his chest and a triple-pronged staff in one hand. He was tall, slim and humanoid, with bright green eyes, blue hair and dark skin, with the tell-tale pointed ears that signified him has a youkai. He leaned on his staff and saluted, a fanged grin on his face. 

"Report, Sesshoumaru-sama!" he said with a salute. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed and he nodded. 

"Report then, and leave my sight afterwards. I have no time for foolish water sprites today." He turned around and continued his work on the war simulator on his laptop as he tried to figure out the best position for the war.

The kappa continued his grin as he stuck his tongue out at his superior's back, twirling the staff once before tapping it on the ground as he made his speech. "Sesshoumaru-sama, the last two generals you've requested have arrived! Your brother's friend's son has come by surprise and accepts your offer! Sir!"

"Indeed…" Sesshoumaru thought to himself as he positioned more soldiers to the far eastern side of the battlefield, where'd they have a closer advantage to the gates.  "Well then, send the boy in. And Mizuki you can not watch your tongue yourself I will personally remove it so that you may keep a closer eye on it."

Mizuki gulped but continued grinning, seemingly unfazed by the threat. He turned around and walked out the commander's room, whistling an old river song cheerfully. Sesshoumaru ignored him and continued working on tactics, one delicately clawed finger tapping against his nose as he thought, a curious habit only few had ever seen. 

"Naraku… just what could you ever be thinking?" He muttered to himself when a small message popped up, signalling a voice message had been activated. Sesshoumaru opened the file and continued to work on the army as he spoke.

"What is it girl? I, Sesshoumaru, am occupied at the moment and do not want my time foolishly wasted. Is everything going well?"

"_I've completed my mission, Lord._" A husky voice came out of the speakers, sounding distant and slightly curious. "_It's worked out fine at first but the girl... well, what can I do about her?_"

Sesshoumaru squinted at the screen, lost in thought as he muttered silent curses to his virtual enemy. "This was your idea," he raised his voice louder to speak with the messenger, "so fix it yourself. Just remember that contact is not allowed. For the plan to work, everything must be flawless."

The voice on the other end snorted. "_As you wish, m'Lord. There is also about…. _him._ What should I do about that? Sneaking in shall be easy enough but sneaking out…_"

"Did you not come to this Sesshoumaru to offer your services?" The Fourth Lord nearly snapped, his patience running thin. "If you are whom you do claim to be then I suggest you begin your work and you do so flawlessly. If there are no more interruptions…"

A pause on the other end. "_Yes m'Lord. Right away._" A small click signaled the caller had signed off. Sesshoumaru did a few more touches to the battle strategy before standing up. Three more nights for his army to become completely organized. He'd best go and inform the two new generals, he thought, crushing another rock just to feel better. Soon the Outcast will be dead, Sesshoumaru would rise in power and the Lord would then dispose of his nephew and complete his collection with his father's fang. He smiled, just slightly, as he left the room. Only he, Sesshoumaru, could ever be powerful enough to have fate so completely on his side.

Kagome woke up with a start, sitting up quickly. She had felt a strong, demonic aura just now. She had to warn Inu-Yasha… Inu-Yasha… where was he? She looked around the rock where he had been perching on but he was nowhere to be found. The demonic aura was gone but where was her guardian? Carefully, as to not wake Shippo up, she eased the tiny angel sleeping on her lap off of her onto the ground and she floated up to where Inu-Yasha had been standing. Nothing. No dog-angel sleeping on the job or anything. What was going on?

She lowered herself on the ledge and looked around, trying to sense her guardian's aura. There! She looked over into the forest, where she sensed a bunch of small, lesser youkai and… and… what was that? She sensed something else, something familiar that she couldn't put her finger on, something totally not there. She bit her lip. What was wrong? Inu-Yasha wouldn't just leave like that, it wasn't like him. Something was right. 

A sudden flash drew her attention to the trees beside her but she saw nothing. Shippo sneezed in his sleep and curled up closer to Miroku, where Kagome had placed him. Everyone else was fast asleep, oblivious to what danger may be coming. Couldn't they feel it? Kagome sensed, under all the other auras around, that there was something strong and evil watching them, watching her…

Kagome shivered involuntarily and shook her head to clear it of those thoughts. She knew she was just being paranoid and that all this excitement was just getting to her head. There was no demon watching them. The only demons she where the fifteen-odd demons in the forest and a small mouse youkai that was busy eating a few sunflower seeds to her left. There was the small sense from Inu-Yasha and then that other aura… it was beginning to worry her. She quickly glanced at her sleeping friends, wondering if she should wake them up, then decided against it and ran into the woods. 

The demon nearly fell out of the tree as it watched Kagome run into the forest. Kami, one wouldn't think Kagome was _that_ stupid! Still, it made one's job easier. The demon hurriedly began jumping trees, following after the dead girl into the forest. 

Okay, Kagome thought, _now_ I'm not imagining it. She could feel the demonic presence right behind her, following her. At least she was leading it away from her friends, on a positive note. Now her only hope was that she could reach Inu-Yasha before it reached her. And she was still tired and feeling drained from that last fight…

Suddenly a black shadow appeared in front of her, not giving her enough time to stop. Kagome screamed and crashed right into the demon, knocking them both to the ground. Kagome was up first, getting to her feet and backing away from the demon. Her pursuer shook it's head and brushed itself off, still in the shadows as it looked at Kagome and then at the moon before glancing behind it. 

"Dammit, I need more time… Distraction, distraction, distraction… Screw it, I'm breaking the rules." the demon muttered before turning to the girl. "Uh, hi! Kagome, isn't it? Nice to meet you!"

"You have three minutes to explain yourself. Then you die." Kikyou leaned against the tree and looked at Inu-Yasha expectantly. The half-angel folded his ears back with nervousness, trying to figure out where to start. His ears twitched worriedly as he thought. 

"You remember when I was an exterminator, a few days before… the fire?" he asked, trying to word it carefully. Kikyou nodded slowly, the cold look in her eyes not wavering. Inu-Yasha fiddled with a loose thread on Tetsusaiga's hilt as he continued. "I think that's how it started."

"Started?" Kikyou interrupted. "Is that where you got the idea to steal the jewel?" her hand went instinctively up to her neck where the Shikon no Tama had once hung. 

Inu-Yasha quickly shook his head. "No, I'm telling you Kikyou it wasn't me! Please, let me explain!" Kikyou frowned but motioned that Inu-Yasha continue. The half-angel nodded and kept with his story. 

"Well, a few days before the fire I had been fighting that nest of insect youkai, you remember that right? That large scorpion demon cut me up pretty bad and you forced me to stay at home even though we both knew that Naraku was out there despite the fact that my pa killed him." Inu-Yasha frowned. "I don't remember much after that but I do remember that when I was fighting the scorpion there was another demon who had the smell of Naraku on her. She attacked me with a knife and cut me right here -" he mentioned with his claw the slice along the back of his neck and right shoulder. "- before I killed her. There must have been some kind of poison on the blade because after that I got razed by the scorpion and blacked out.

"I was barely awake when you guys found me and brought me back, but I remember smelling something, something like Naraku. I thought it was just the dead demon girl so I dismissed it. Now that I remember it, it smelled alive."

Inu-Yasha's eyes narrowed as he remembered and Kikyou nodded, curious to his story despite her straight and determined belief that he was making all this up.

"I blacked out for a while and had some pretty crazy dreams, most of them about fire." Inu-Yasha continued. "I must have had a pretty high fever then."

"You were burning up." Kikyou agreed.  

"Poison." Inu-Yasha nodded. "And Naraku's doing. When I came to completely it was still really hot and I felt like I was burning; but for a different reason. I woke up in the middle of the village and everything was on fire. When I realized it was the village I freaked out and started looking for you. Then I smelled your blood and nearly had a heart attack. I didn't realize then that it had come from me. Then I found you…" he trailed off and Kikyou wondered if he had run out of time yet. She had forgotten to keep track but decided to give him one more minute before she cut him off.

"You didn't die." Kikyou remarked. "Pity."

Inu-Yasha's eyes flashed but he shook his head, remembering that she was still brainwashed by Naraku's lies. "No, you missed my heart by a few centimetres. And I was in shock so I didn't really feel it anyways. But after that I went ballistic, trying to find out who actually did this to you. No one stopped me. Only Kinu thought I was innocent."

Kikyou smiled, but still coldly. "Kinu was always short-sighted."

Inu-Yasha shook his head. "It didn't matter; Naraku killed him three years after you." Kikyou frowned again but allowed Inu-Yasha to continue. "That day I was still searching but I came back to the village because Kinu wanted me to take care of his brat for the day and he thought the break might do me good. On my way back to the village I met him. Naraku.

"He was in one of his disguises but I could smell that it was Naraku clear enough. He didn't seem fazed that I recognized him though, cocky bastard. Instead he asked me how you were doing. I nearly killed him.

"Naraku's a cocky bastard but he has reason to be." Inu-Yasha ears flushed as he growled through this part of the story. "He had me down in a minute; I was still weak from both the poison and your dagger… not to mention the fact that you had died. He was going to kill me but Kinu came in and started fighting him. Kinu was a Guardian by then, just so you know. Had been promoted the year before. But Naraku was still too strong and killed him, right before my eyes. Then he told me that before he would kill me that he would tell me just how he did it. Then entire time he was dangling the Shikon no Tama in my face, where it hung from his neck. 

"Naraku told me that the demon girl with the scorpion was a wanderer, a threeblood like me. She wanted the Shikon no Tama and offered her services to Naraku to kill me and you and take the jewel. But he was smart and knew that you had purified the jewel so that he couldn't even touch it. So instead he would contaminate first. The demon was to put this poison on her dagger and stab me with it so that I would nearly die. Then Kagura, you remember her, the wind demon that brought Naraku back to life, used her specialty technique to take over my body and use it to kill you…" he trailed off. 

"Time's up." Kikyou said, snapping her fingers. "I must say Inu-Yasha, that's a detailed story."

"I'm had 200 years to think about it." Inu-Yasha said. 

Kikyou frowned. "Two-hundred years to invent it."

"No Kikyou, that's not what I meant!" Inu-Yasha protested. "What I meant was –" he froze, ears trained to one side. 

Kikyou looked at him oddly, glancing over at her youkai, which also seemed to be focusing on a certain direction. She looked over curiously, wondering what had caught their attention. 

"You've known Inu-Yasha since he was a baby?" Kagome asked curiously. The demon nodded vigorously and grinned. "And he was a fat pup too! I mean really fat!" she puffed out her cheeks to demonstrate and Kagome giggled. The demon laughed along as well before calming down. "So whatcha doing out here anyway, Kagome?"

"Huh?" Kagome blinked, then remembered why she was in the forest. "Inu-Yasha. He's missing and I sensed some demons out here and thought he was out here…"

"Say no more." The demon held up her hand and stood up, jumping up to perch on a tree branch. "I understand completely. And you're right, he's back there with a bunch of demons." She snickered at a joke that Kagome had a feeling wasn't going to be shared. The demon swung upside-down and hung there, her striped, braided hair nearly touching the ground. "We can go visit him if y'want."

Kagome eyed the demon curiously and suspiciously. The humanoid demon was a cat youkai; that was apparent from the pointed, feline ears that poked out of the top of her head, the two brown stripes on both sides of her cheeks and the curving tail that clung onto the branch, not to mention she had the build of a twelve-year-old despite the fact she was over five-hundred. Kagome was no expert on cat demons but she knew that they were mostly thieves and not very trustworthy. And this demon that had just popped out of the blue and seemed to know a lot about her… too much. Still, the way this demon was grinning at her with wide eyes, a picture of innocence, Kagome couldn't help but be reminded of her cat Buyo and Buyo was about as devious as a teapot. 

"How do you know so much?" Kagome decided to voice her suspicions. The cat looked hurt and flipped down the ground, ears hanging dejectedly, the many earrings on one jangling. "Ka-go-me, I'm a cat!" she stuck her tongue out. "How can I not know so much?" Suddenly she glanced over her shoulder and up at the moon, frowning. "Whoopsies. C'mon Kagome, let's go meet Inu-Yasha! I'm dying to see him again and see if he still has those fat cheeks!"

Kagome decided to allow herself to be dragged along by the smaller girl, not seeing the complete harm in this. They were after all just going to meet Inu-Yasha. What wrong could come of it? And besides, this demon didn't seem all that bad. 

Suddenly the cat-girl stopped and pulled Kagome behind a tree. "Ssh." She whispered, putting a finger to her lips and nodding her head towards a small clearing where Kagome had seen Inu-Yasha. Curious, wondering why they were stopping, Kagome peeked around the tree and gasped. Inu-Yasha was there, surrounded by flying, serpentine youkai and talking to a girl who looked slightly older than her. A girl giving off an aura that felt exactly the same and yet different from hers. Kikyou.

"That's Kikyou!" Kagome hissed, turning to her companion, only to realize with shock that the cat demon had disappeared. Kagome looked around frantically for the other girl but she was nowhere in sight and Kagome could no longer sense her. Wondering just what in world was going on, she peeked around the tree and eavesdropped on Inu-Yasha and Kikyou's conversation.

Inu-Yasha was nodding, taking both of Kikyou's hands. "Kikyou, in the time we knew each other, have I ever lied to you?" Kikyou started to open her mouth but the half-angel quickly intervened. "I mean a _serious_ lie, not lies about how much sake I've been drinking or whatnot."

Kikyou thought for a moment, then shook her head. "There's a first time for everything." She said coldly. Inu-Yasha's ears twitched and Kagome wondered if she should just leave now but her curiosity got the better of her. Inu-Yasha's ears turned back to where Kagome was hiding but he didn't seem to notice anything when he put his full attention back to Kikyou. 

"Kikyou, this must have been hard for you to understand but I'm perfectly serious." He put a hand on her shoulder. "As much as I'd hate to say it, maybe you should go see my uncle so you can finally rest in piece."

Kikyou gave him a look. "Actually Inu-Yasha, the first person I went to see after I escaped from Naraku's was your uncle. All he did was listen to what I had to say and then he sent me here."

Inu-Yasha's nose twitched; so that's who Sesshoumaru's strange visitor was. At least one mystery solved here. "Why did you come here?" He asked. "If you had just stayed with the pompous ass you'd at least be safe from Naraku…"

"I wanted to see you, Inu-Yasha." Kikyou interrupted, moving closer to him. "I wanted to know why you were still alive."

"I told you already." Inu-Yasha argued. "I did my best to try to save you Kikyou, I'm so sorry." Without warning he pulled the undead angel into a hug. "How about I promise to protect you from now on?"

Kikyou seemed startled but soon hugged the half-angel back. Suddenly her eyes opened and she looked into the woods; straight at Kagome. "You!" She hissed, pulling away from Inu-Yasha. 

_"A word of warning, Kikyou. Do not venture to close to the girl who contains the other half of your soul. She will destroy you both just by being near you. It is, however, in your best interest to kill her. You will gain your full powers back and granted an actual life, instead of the false one that this Naraku has created for you."_

Kikyou glared at Kagome as the girl stumbled back. Kikyou had seen her and didn't seem to friendly towards her Reborn. And the way Inu-Yasha was looking at her too, surprised and… angry at her for interrupting. Without a second thought Kagome turned around and shot through the forest back to the campsite, hoping she would get there before the others woke up and she could just pretended none of this ever happened…

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha called after his task but she was gone and out of hearing range. "Shit." He started to chase after her when Kikyou grabbed his arm. "Inu-Yasha, you mean to leave me for that girl?"

"I-it's not that…" Inu-Yasha said, tugging to pull his arm free. "She's my task and has a tendency of getting kidnapped…"

"Then let her die." Kikyou said coolly. "Besides, both she and I cannot live for very long while both of us are still alive. It's upsetting the balance of things and one of us must die for the other to live. Who do you choose?" She eyed him, daring him to respond against her liking. "Inu-Yasha?"

"Kikyou, I…" Inu-Yasha trailed off. He didn't know what to do. He wanted Kagome to live, but he also wanted Kikyou to live… at least until he could finally convince her of what actually happened. 

"I believe your story, Inu-Yasha." Kikyou said suddenly, leaning against his chest, much to his surprise. "I believe everything you told me. So come on, let's dispose of my Reborn and we can both go kill Naraku together. Please, love?" She looked up at him expectantly. There was no way he'd choose that child over her and when she had the chance, Kikyou would kill Kagome and then Inu-Yasha.  

Inu-Yasha was at a loss for words, when suddenly the silence between them was broken by Kagome's scream. Inu-Yasha was at the edge of the clearing in a flash, ears ridged as he smelled some dangerous and nastily familiar. "Kikyou, I have to –"

"You choose her over me?" Kikyou hissed. Inu-Yasha held up a hand. "No, Kikyou, it's just that –"

"Save it." Kikyou turned coldly around, raising her arms at the serpentine youkai flitted around her, glowing in the darkness of the night. "I see you've made your decision, traitor." 

"Wait, Kikyou!" Inu-Yasha shouted up to her as the youkai raised her into the air, but all she responded with was a deadly glare before the darkness swallowed her up. Inu-Yasha growled with frustration before remembering his task. Quickly he took off into the night. 

End Chapter 23

Whee, it's SuperBowl Sunday! Who doesn't care? *raises hand* Who forgot? *raises other hand* I'd much rather watch Yuki and Kyo from Fruits Basket duke it out instead of large men in 'fancypants' (beer commercial. Don't ask) At least Yuki and Kyo are attractive. And besides, I've had to write this as well. If I stayed up watching the game instead, wouldn't you be sad?

And Kikyou comes and goes =P truly I would like to hang her by her toenails over a vat of boiling cat piss but those are the breaks. She an essential character, unfortunately. Speaking of characters, how'd you like the two new ones? So there's no confusion, Mizuki the kappa (for those that don't know, a kappa is a powerful water demon in Japanese lore) and the cat-demon aren't from _Inu-Yasha_, I made them up. Mizuki's based after another kappa, from an anime I saw a few days ago, which was based on Journey to the West (I can't remember the name of the anime. I think it had something that sounded like 'sayuki' in the title but I can't remember. It has a white dragon named Hakuryu with an impossibly long neck that turns into a jeep if that helps any). The cat-girl's just… there. They're both minor characters, but I needed a general for Sesshoumaru and I needed some distraction for Kagome. 

Shout outs:

**link no miko:** See, you learn things as you read chapters. I have no idea why this one is called 'Time' but I think it has something to do with the minute flashbacks and Kagome's perfect timing in to the conversation. I dunno, the chapter titles just come out that way. And I don't think what you choose in KH really affects the game that much. I picked magic and offence, but my magic sucked (hence the Donald dying all the time) and my defence was my strongest. It's a conspiracy I tell you! And sorry for still not revealing who Naraku's going after. You'll find out next chapter, I promise! Actually, you do and you don't. You meet them but you don't know their names or who they are, if that makes any sense. And they're actual IY characters, but if you've only read up to Kouga you wouldn't know who they are. They're recent characters, but I don't know how far into the manga they are… somewhere around book 25 (BIG hint, don't anyone else ruin it now!) And Inu-Yasha's stupid. Eventually he'll learn… we hope for Kagome's sake. And I hoped you liked the picky! More to come!

**Crystal Twilight:** Yes, hang Kikyou by her toenails over a vat of boiling cat piss ^_^ And McDonalds is actually a fine place to work, since I get paid for doing ruffly what I do at home (ie cleaning the table and getting the food ready) Besides, now I know everybody and the nickname helps, since there are far to many Amanda's working where I work. Only one nametag! (I'm sure you're the only 'blondie' at your school, eh?)

**Keito:** I have sent you a pic and I hope you like it, more coming soon. And thank you. Odd dreams lead to good stories.

**Nariko:** Miroku _is_ a hippie! Just without the colourful, see-through clothes and the drugs! And the war action's coming, don't worry. Chapter 25 is where the fighting starts, but wait until Book Three, which is coming out at chapter 32: it's all war. I know, it's a long wait. I'll try to put in more battles to keep you happy!

And that's all for now folks! Have a great day! (or night, whatever)

~Ama


	24. Chapter 24: Towards

Booga-boo everyone! Wassup? It is I, Ama, here to bring yet the latest instalment of Guardian Angel! *applause* And now, for all three of my loyal fans, here's what's coming up!

- Inu-chan does something stupid.

- Naraku does something evil.

- Sesshoumaru does something and looks damn fine while doing it, as he does with everything else.

I know, that's not much information. But hey, the chapter's right here. So stop reading this useless stuff and read on my friend, read on!

Shoutouts:

**Tanuki-chan: **You're forgiven, don't worry. I understand completely all of your problems. I like the idea of Kikyou hunting! Let's go kill Kikyou! Woot! And Inu-chan's stupid but we love him anyway.

**Claira:** Yeah, Kikyou has an importance to the plot. Unfortunatly….

**Fate: **Whee, cat demons! Don't we love them? 

**Silver Magiccraft: **Fruits Basket is the best! If you watch Inu-Yasha and then Fruits Basket you'll notice that Fruits Basket is like IY reincarnated or something! It's crazy! (or my sister and I were up to late…)

**Chapter 24:**

** Towards:**

"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Mizuki the kappa rapped on the wall to alert the demon Lord that he was coming up behind him, although Sesshoumaru had known of his presence long before. The water demon was already getting visually prepared for war, with the symbol of the Fourth domain tattooed on his dark-skinned left cheek and his blue hair stylized in spikes to look more formidable. Mizuki swung his spear over his shoulder as he followed his commander, his long legs keeping up with Sesshoumaru's more elegant steps. 

"Them soldiers, there's talk." Mizuki drawled, not noticing or not caring that Sesshoumaru hadn't acknowledged his presence. "From what that new one said. That there bitch of Naraku's, what she's done."

"Mizuki, I'd appreciate that if you cannot or will not speak properly that you do not speak at all." Sesshoumaru interrupted, not looking at his general. "And yes, I will tell you now that the rumours are true and Kagura has gone after the Seven."

The kappa's eyes widened and he almost dropped his spear before he caught himself and attached the spear to his back. "Shit." He swore in his normal voice, pulling out a cigarette. "As much as I hate your nephew, I feel sorry for him." He light his smoke and chewed on the end of it, leaning against the wall as Sesshoumaru tapped in the key code to his main war room. "So, do I tell the soldiers or not, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"I suggest that if you want the information clearly, before you start spreading rumours amongst my troops, that you go speak to the witness himself." Sesshoumaru said, giving Mizuki a cold glance. "Remember that you are alive only because under your stupid wit lies an intelligent officer. I must say, you hide it very well." He took the cigarette from the kappa's mouth and dropped in on the ground in disgust. "Now go and prepare yourself. We only have two more days."

"Gotcha." Mizuki bowed as Sesshoumaru disappeared into his room. As soon as the Fourth Lord was gone, Mizuki pulled out another cigarette and lit it, humming to himself as he walked leisurely down the hallway to go and talk to the new general.

Inu-Yasha ran through the forest, his mind on a hundred different things at once. Kikyou was alive again, Naraku was attacking the mortal plane, the third strike could happen, Kagome just screamed, he smelled something, Kikyou was alive…

"Dammit!" Inu-Yasha swore, jumping onto a tree branch to get a better view of the forest, his ears twitching before he found Kagome and bounded in that direction. Why in all the hells did everything have to happen to him?

Of course it was just stupid, fucking coincidence that Kagome had to wake up and get curious. That she had to see him and Kikyou talking. He growled and shook his head in frustration. And what did Kikyou say back there? That the balance had been screwed over because both she and Kagome were alive; that one of them had to die or they both will? Dammit… he remembered his father telling him something about this. It was like some sick, twisted historian's idea of a joke. 

There! He spotted Kagome's shirt colour, inside a small clearing where the girl was kneeling. He jumped down beside her, looking at her in concern. There was a small cut across her cheek and a faint hint of blood outlined it. She seemed in shock and didn't seem to notice him as he knelt down beside her. "Kagome?" he put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her lightly. "What happened?"

Kagome shook her head in confusion, putting a hand to her cut. "A – a shadow…" she said distantly. "Attacked me… then it just disappeared…" she seemed to be trying to grasp everything that happened, a little in shock. Inu-Yasha glanced around the woods and saw nothing out of the ordinary. He sniffed a bit, searching around… still nothing. But something was here… he could feel it. 

He turned back to Kagome, smelling it suddenly, faint but on her sleeve. In surprise he brought her arm up to his nose, trying to sort out the different scents. Kagome pulled her arm away quickly. "What are you doing?" she asked, standing up and looking at him in shock. 

"Kagome, did you meet anybody out here?" Inu-Yasha jumped up after her, trying to sound calm and normal although his voice had raised louder from his surprise. "Were you talking with anyone?"

The black-haired girl looked at him for a bit, seemingly thinking about what she should tell him. Finally she turned her back on him, beginning to walk back towards the camp. "What does it matter to you?" she said as she stormed away. 

"It matters because I should know!" Inu-Yasha said, following her. He knew that smell on her, but he couldn't remember where. But something in the depths of his mind was turning on the warning lights full blast and it scared him, although he would never admit to his task. "I'm your guardian angel!"

"Some angel you are! Sit!" Kagome almost ran away as Inu-Yasha ate dirt, pushing himself up just in time to see his task disappear into the misty forest. As soon as the rosary's effect died he jumped up and ran after her. 

Kagome raced blindly into the campsite, where everyone else was awake. With a cry of her name, Shippo flung himself into her arms, hugging her tightly. "Kagome, we thought you died or got kidnapped again! Don't do that to us!"

Kagome stopped and hugged Shippo back. "Don't worry Shippo-chan. I'm sorry I scared you." She patted his head soothingly, then looked up at Sango and Miroku. "Well, shall we get going?" she asked, moving eastwards. "We have to get to Tokyo before Naraku does."

"I suppose…" Miroku said, looking at Sango in confusion. The older girl shrugged but was still concerned. Something was nagging at her about Kagome. By now it wasn't a big deal if Kagome and Inu-Yasha disappeared and Kagome returned all angry, as this was a habit Sango was getting used to, but this time Kagome looked genuinely sad. Something had happened back there and Sango wondered if Kagome would ever talk about it.

As they started walking along in silence, Inu-Yasha came out of the forest, sulking in the back and refusing to talk to anyone. Miroku eventually gave up his attempts on goading the half-angel into talking and instead decided to start a conversation with Sango. 

"Inu-Yasha and Kagome-sama seem to have gotten quite distant this morning." Miroku said loosely while walking beside Sango. The girl nodded distantly, seemingly thinking of other things. 

Miroku tried again. "What do you think may have happened this time? Kagome-sama appeared to have a small wound on her cheek. Do you think that maybe Inu-Yasha ran off, Kagome-sama followed and the result was poor Kagome getting attacked again?"

"Mmhmm." Sango nodded again, staring straight ahead and walking steadily. Miroku raised an eyebrow at this curious behaviour and thought for a moment before speaking again. "I suppose that like all of their fights this will end quickly enough. However, it does hinder using Kirrara for transportation at the moment, doesn't it?"

Again Sango nodded distantly and Miroku made up his mind. Time to stop cutting around corners and playing games and just get down to business. And if Sango wasn't really paying attention anyway, when normally she was watching him like a hawk, then it certainly must mean that she wouldn't mind this time.

"Pervert!" BONG!

Kagome and Shippo looked around to see Sango, eyes aflame, holding her Hiraikotsu above a suspiciously large bump on Miroku's head. Sango disposed of her weapon and walked away from the monk grumbling, shooting him a dirty look before continuing on. Kagome kept walking, now almost in step with Sango, and she watched the older girl out of the corner of her eye but said nothing. 

I suppose everyone has their own different sort of boy trouble, she thought wistfully. Why she considered Inu-Yasha 'boy trouble' she couldn't guess. She pictured him and Kikyou again, him making that promise, that horrible picture of them together from Kikyou's memories imprinting on her mind. She closed her eyes and shook her head. Inu-Yasha loved Kikyou, she told herself. There was no room for a third wheel, especially one like her. Third wheel. Psh, what was she thinking. Being dead was starting to drive her crazy, she guessed, if she started liking a selfish, obnoxious, two-timing jerk like him. She sighed, wishing her friends where here. They'd help her out in this situation. 

"What's wrong, Kagome?" Shippo looked up at her with childlike innocence. He wasn't stupid; it was obvious Inu-Yasha had made some major screw-up. "What did Inu-Yasha do this time?"

"It's nothing, Shippo-chan." Kagome assured him, patting him on the head. Shippo frowned. "Kagome…"

"Inu-Yasha's just stupid, that's all." Kagome sighed, not even glancing back at her guardian. She smiled. "But you knew that already, didn't you?"

Shippo blinked, and then wisely smiled and nodded. He was going to get hell about this later from dog-boy, he just knew it. Maybe if he had played dumb from the start he wouldn't have to be the brunt of everything all the time.

Inu-Yasha's ears picked up the 'stupid' comment and he grumbled. Stupid him… bah. Stupid girl, that's what. He knew better than to start an argument; first of all Miroku, Shippo, Sango and Kirrara would hear everything and inevitable get involved, especially that stupid, perverted monk. Plus, what could he argue? Girls were impossible to understand and he didn't even know what he was going to do about this situation anyway. Hell, he didn't even know what was going on, so how could he explain it to her? He didn't even know why she was acting so stupid anyway. He'd have to talk to Shippo when they stopped for a break.

The morning passed uneventfully, with the odd, familiar feud between Miroku and Sango when the boy got bored and wanted to try his luck yet again and the girl with the giant boomerang just couldn't figure out how much simpler she could get the message across. Inu-Yasha remained at the back, still sulking but looking more bored than angry as the day wore on. Kagome and Shippo led the way at the front, the pair occasionally holding small conversations with Sango until Miroku interrupted and quiet stayed the group again. 

It was enough to bore a spy to death. 

By noon Miroku would have been seriously injured were he not already dead, Sango's long patience was wearing quite thin, Kagome was beginning to wonder if maybe she was being a bit too immature, Inu-Yasha had forgotten why he was even mad at Kagome and Shippo was asleep. As a whole they decided to stop at a small campground/tourist trap to get some food and would then follow the highway all the way back to Tokyo. 

"Houshi-sama and I will go get some food." Sango announced as Inu-Yasha disappeared into a tree. Miroku looked at Sango hopefully. "Sango, are you sure?"

The dark-haired girl eyed Miroku suspiciously, but nodded. "Kagome-chan has hard a hard night and morning and deserves the rest. Besides, I won't be able to carry all the food myself." Her eyes hardened. "And no funny business."

Kagome nodded, and sat down, slumping against a tree and closing her eyes, stroking the sleeping Shippo's tail absently. "Sure thing you guys. I'll just wait here with Shippo." It was clear that she was still ignoring Inu-Yasha's presence. Sango nodded uncertainly and turned to walk away, Miroku following her eagerly as if he misinterpreted Sango's 'invitation', which was made more apparent by yet again his infamous gesture. Sango didn't bother to bring out her Hiraikotsu but instead just let Kirrara at the lecherous monk. 

Kagome watched them go, a slight smile on her face. She certainly wasn't stupid and she knew that the only reason Sango had pulled Miroku away from them is so that she and Inu-Yasha could be alone and talk and maybe make up. Kagome only smiled more when she thought of maybe another reason that Sango may have dragged the monk away, but she knew that the older girl would deny it from every angle; perhaps even too much. 

Maybe she should talk with Inu-Yasha, she thought loosely. It's not like she had seen them… actually she preferred not to finish that thought. She was just being immature and selfish about it; she should let Inu-Yasha lead his own life. Even if it didn't include her…

You notice that every time you're given too much time to think you get depressed? A tiny voice in the back of her head suddenly popped up. 

Kagome shook her head. Not all the time.

Just most of the time. And all of the time ever since you met Inu-Yasha. He's the anti-anti-depressant!

I have not! He's not the reason!

He is this time. And the time before and the time before and the time before…

Okay… maybe a little…

Told ya.

Hey, who asked you anyway?!

I'm the voice in the back of your head! I know this stuff! Every time you get too much time to think you get depressed, _especially_ if it involves dog-boy. Look, either go with Kouga, kill some hot guy or go with the threeblood. Just stop pinning! 

Why is this so much of an interest to you? It's my life and if I what to pine over Inu-Yasha, I will!

Fine then, you love-sick wench! Just find other things to do with dog-boy rather then thinking.

Like what?

Oh… you know…

What kind of conscience are you! I'm not doing _that!_ What's wrong with you?

The little voice almost sniggered. I'm bored.

"What?" Kagome said out loud, startling herself. When she realized she had been having a one-track argument with herself she began giggling, unable to help herself. 

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Inu-Yasha's bitter voice quipped from above her. Suddenly happy after that stupid little argument she had with the voice in her head Kagome called cheerfully up. "Talking to myself."

Inu-Yasha snorted. "Talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity." He stated, leaning against the tree branch. 

"I didn't start until I met you!" Kagome shot back up. "And shouldn't sticking with you be the second sign?"

Her angel snorted again, not responding otherwise. After a moment's silence, feeling a little braver, Kagome called up to him again. "Inu-Yasha, I'm sorry."

"For what?" Her guardian's reply came from after a few moment's of silence. Kagome sighed, wondering if she should continue then decided she might as well put both feet in. 

"For running away this morning." She said. "I really shouldn't have and I shouldn't have followed you into the forest in the first place. I could have gotten kidnapped again or killed and…" she trailed off. What else could she tell him? 

There was another moment before Inu-Yasha replied. "That all?"

Kagome's eyes narrowed as she glanced up. "What do you mean, 'that all'?" 

"I mean," Inu-Yasha jumped down to stand beside her, "is that everything? All you have to apologize for?"

Kagome felt her face flush as she looked at him, half-angry. "Well, what else is there?" There was nothing more to tell him, expect that she had been crying but what would she tell him that anyway?

Inu-Yasha's expression hardened, strengthening the family relation between him and his demon Lord uncle momentarily. "Why did you follow me in the first place? And who were you with?"

Kagome looked at him in shock. Why was he being so inquisitive? Was he being defensive or was he genuinely concerned? "I, uh…." She bit her lip. "I followed you because I was worried. You were missing, gone without telling anyone and when I woke up I sensed demons, you and… and something else." For some reason she couldn't bear to say the name 'Kikyou'. 

"And?" Inu-Yasha crossed his arms impatiently. 

Kagome tilted her head as she thought. "And… I met a demon, a girl who said she knew you. She wanted to go meet you but when we got there she vanished…"

"A girl demon?" Inu-Yasha looked fully attentive all of a sudden. "What did she look like? What was her name?"

"She was a cat-demon, with brown, striped hair in a braid, brown stripes on her face, a brown, striped tail and green eyes." Kagome remembered. "And her name…" she shrugged. "She never told me her name."

"You didn't ask?"

Kagome looked at her guardian curiously. "No, I never really thought about it. I was too worried about you, but you don't seem to care about that." In a huff she stood up, walking away from her flustered guardian. 

"Hey, waitaminute!" Inu-Yasha blinked. "Kagome!"

Kagome turned and looked at him, tempted to say the 's' word. Just as she opened her mouth she was interrupted by Sango and Miroku returning at high speeds. 

"Kagome-chan!" Sango said, riding Kirrara with Miroku behind her. "We have a problem!"

"What is it?" Inu-Yasha asked hurriedly. 

Miroku answered. "A group of demons were attacking a tankard truck just near here." He fingered a rosary bead on the ring around his air rip. "We stopped them, but we have the feeling that there's more. We're only about two hours from Tokyo and from what I heard the invasion has already started."

"Shit." Inu-Yasha swore. "Kirrara, how fast can you fly?"

The feline angel nodded her flame-ringed head and let out a deep-throated growl. Inu-Yasha, seeming to understand the cat, nodded. "Fly faster. Come on Kagome, we're going." He picked up his protesting task and placed her on his back.

"Inu-Yasha, put me down!" Kagome shouted but he ignored her, instead speaking to Sango, Miroku and Kirrara.

"I'm heading to Tokyo with Kagome. If you can keep up, great. Otherwise, we'll meet you there." He then ran forward, jumping into the air. Kagome sighed and held onto Inu-Yasha's shoulders as he flew forward at top speeds towards the capital city.

Shippo yawned and sleepily rubbed his eyes. "Kagome?" He looked around in confusion.

Miroku patted him on the head as Kirrara turned around and followed Inu-Yasha into the air. "Don't bother Shippo. Just go back to sleep."

In the depths of Hell, Kagura was miserable. 

She had done what Naraku had told her and had dug up the Seven, plus one extra. Now she was supposed to be in charge of them until he was completely finished his job. Still getting used to their new bodies, they had been locked up in a sealed room so that they couldn't do any harm to her or themselves; of course, they also made sure she did no harm to them. 

Unfortunately that didn't stop them from talking. 

"Oi, bitch! Are we ever going to get out here?"

"What the hell is Naraku doing anyway? Isn't he done with the damn doctor yet?"

"Hello-o! Aren't you going to answer? I want my preeeety back!"

Kagura rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly. This was going to be a very long day. "Naraku will be finished with your companions soon. You freaks don't exactly come to life easily, you know!"

A colourful laugh came from inside. "Damn straight, woman! We should know, this is the third time we've been alive!"

"What does Naraku want from us this time? And why must we be kept in this room without our weapons?" Another, hissing voice came. Kagura sighed. 

"We have servants off searching for your weapons now. And Naraku doesn't trust you, that's why."

The laugh came again. "He sure as hell shouldn't trust us! Isn't that right, Ani-ki?" 

"Shut up." The other voice hissed again. "You're getting on my nerves, you fag."

"Aw, that hurts." The first voice pouted and Kagura was beginning to wish she could give them their weapons; right in their throats.

"Both of you, shut up!" Another commanding voice barked and the second voice stopped the hissing he had been making. "Now then woman, what does Naraku want us for this time?"

"I hope he's cute!" The first voice said, and then was silent.

"You may find this ironic," Kagura said, hoping that she could get away soon, "but it's Inu-Yasha's son you're after."

"Really?" the third voice said calculatingly.

"Inu-Yasha had a son? You mean he betrayed me?" 

A squeal came as the second voice hissed out again. "He never betrayed you. The hanyou wasn't into men." The first voice responded with a muttered curse word. "You're no fun." He pouted.

"Shut up!" the third voice barked again. "Now then woman, you say that hanyou's son?"

"Yes."

"Indeed…" The third voice trailed off and there was silence, sweet blessed silence for a moment.

"I wonder if his son looks like his daddy!"

"Oh shut up before I make you less manly than you already are!"

Kagura sighed and could feel a headache coming on as she rubbed the bridge of her nose again. Suddenly she felt a cold presence behind her. She sighed. 

"What do you want?"

The shadowy demon smiled but remained the shadows. "Just… observing."

Kagura frowned. This shadow, named Kuro-michi, had appeared recently to offer it's services to Naraku. It was a trespasser, a demon that could travel freely to all three planes, something reserved only for the Key Keepers. Because of it's abilities and shape shifting it had been hired by Naraku quickly. Already it had done some excellent spying jobs and had given Naraku excellent information, such as just recently when Kikyou returned to Earth and met Inu-Yasha. But it being around her worried Kagura; to be honest, it gave her the creeps. 

"I hope you enjoy yourself, Kagura." The demon said in a low voice before whisking away. Kagura shuddered. She was starting to hate this place more and more. 

Kuro-michi walked slowly and carefully through the hall, keeping to the shadows until it came to the main doors. With a like flicker of a clawed hand it opened them and entered Naraku's domain. 

The Master didn't look up as he carefully placed the tainted Shikon shard onto the corpse's forehead, where it shone a dark light. When he was done, only then did he look up to the shadowed figure. 

"Trespasser, how delightful." He said dangerously, with a tone to even chill the demon's bones. "You have information for this Naraku?"

"Yes, m'Lord." The shadow demon bowed. "I have been to the three planes and I have seen what I should not. The Guardian Kikyou has met with the threeblood." Naraku smiled coldly at the news and nodded that the shadow continue. "And I received information of Sesshoumaru's domain. He has received a trespasser of his own."

Naraku's eyes narrowed. "What has he learned?"

"Not enough, m'Lord." Kuro-michi smiled. "His spy is a female, short-sighted at best. He uses her to keep an eye on his nephew and to communicate with the other planes. He does not trust them which shows more promise for our side. She has also been in this area, sniffing around but finding nothing. She is amateurish, a trespasser but no spy. Do not worry m'Lord."

"And how long will this trespasser live?" Naraku questioned. The shadow smiled. "Only as long as The Master wishes."

"Good." The outcast demon nodded. "Keep an eye on this trespasser until the information we may extract from is no longer a use to this Naraku. Then we will eliminate her."

"Yes m'Lord." The trespasser bowed again, leaving the room silently. 

End Chapter 24

Whee! Again! Isn't it fun? I've had so much work overload up the doodang that it drove me over the edge and this fun-filled chapter was born. Things like Kagome's little conversation with the voices in her head are courtesy of working for too long at your neighbourhood MacDonald's. And yes, I know her conscience is perverted. It was funnier that way. And then there's Naraku's 'spy' person… I dunno, I had a long conversation about ninjas today. Leave me alone! *cries*

So, have you figured out who 'the Seven' are yet? I've given as many hints as I could without giving any names; you'll find out who they are tomorrow. I doubt except many of you to know who they are (and if you do, don't say so) so don't feel bad. 

Shoutouts:

**CorkyComp:** Chapters? Um… 50? And who's your friend? Have they reviewed this? If not, why not? I want answers!

**link no miko: ** Yes, Carrot is the best (I'm not a dirty old man, I'm a dirty _young_ man!)  And yeah, I noticed that too about Kikyou. Manga version seems more.. stoned. Ah well, she'll turn out how she turns out. And right now it's bitchy. Maybe I'll have a spectacular death scene for her! *starts planning*

**nikki:** Yay, thanks! And thanks for the intellectual conversation on MSN too! (actually, if you want to any of you can add me. Please? I'm lonely!)

Sorry if this chapter was kinda anti-climatic. BIG climax next week! I promise!

In fact, to keep you around, I've decided to add a special little bonus paragraph/sentence, like I used to in the old days!

From Chapter 25: Seven:

                _Inu-Yasha ran forward as fast as he could, chasing the demon down. "Get back here you bastard!" He snarled, pulling out his sword. The shadow skirted to the right, trying to avoid him but Inu-Yasha was faster. With a quick swing of his sword he slashed the demon right across the back, splitting him in half._

_Or so he thought._

_Instead he watched in horror as the illusion before him vanished into thin air. "Dammit!" He swung around, looking left and right. Nothing. "Kagome! Kagome!" Ears swivelling left and right, all of his sense keen, he looked around frantically for his stolen task. "Kagome!"_

_There! He quickly turned to his left, racing at top speed. He spotted her, lying on the ground, motionless. Hoping with all his heart that it wasn't another illusion he quickly turned ran up to her side and put a hand on her shoulder. Warmth. Good, she was real._

_"Kagome?" He said, trying not to sound panicked. Carefully he checked for all signs that she was alright and that she wouldn't die the second time on him. Then he smelled it, stopping his hear dead. He picked her up, gently, as he looked at the ground below her and at his hands._

_Blood._

_Her blood._

_From his sword._

End preview.

Okay, okay, I'm mean, I know. Sorry! I should have tried harder to not be so mean! I'll try harder next time *grin*

Y'all have a nice night now, you hear?

~Ama

Quote of the week: Psychiatrists cost money. Bubble wrap is free.


	25. Chapter 25: Seven

Disclaimer: Boom, boom, boom, boom I don't own it, boom, boom, boom, boom, never, ever did… (in tune to 'boom boom' from DDR, which I also don't own)

Hey everyone! How's you? I'm grrrreat! I stayed up all night on Saturday at a friends house, playing Dance Dance Revolution! Who would know that such a simple game would ever be so addictive… I tell you my legs and feet hurt like a dickens after that. I also have many songs stuck in my head, like my favourite '20 November' since it is my b-day :)…

Shout outs:

**Okonomiyaki-chan:** A Jakotsu fan, are you? And I'll remember that for next time. And I'm going to try to do a preview for all the chapters now, except the next one because it's a special edition. ooo

**Nariko**: Hey, give the girl a prize, she guessed the mystery identities of Naraku's secret weapon! Hurrah! *applause and presents* Yes, reading at Chris' website is quite helpful. Everyone, go there and read ahead! You'll find some great news that I won't tell you! But I will tell you one thing: Someone dies! Okay, maybe it's a bad thing, but just read there and read ahead. It's fun!

**Crystal Twilight:** We assert Kikyou's death often, don't we? Flamethrower? What a good idea…

**Violet:** Yes, they are. And if I could be annoying, I could correct you and point out that their names actually all end in kotsu.

Now, here's the chapter featuring everyone's favourite group of Seven! (and I don't mean the painters)

**Chapter 25:**

** Seven**

"Are you sure Sango-chan and Miroku will be able to find us?" Kagome asked in a concerned tone. Inu-Yasha nodded as he flew through the air towards the city Tokyo. Kagome glanced behind them, where Kirrara had been reduced to a speck before disappearing entirely. She was worried about something; some deep pit in her stomach about what might happen. Turning back to face the front, she rested her head on one of Inu-Yasha's shoulders. 

"I hope they'll be okay." She thought aloud. Inu-Yasha snorted. 

"Girl, you worry too much. Sango and Miroku are grown up, they know how to handle themselves. Well, Sango anyway." He added as an afterthought. "Listen, we'll get to Tokyo and it'll only a group of small demons and we'll handle it ourselves. The actually invasion isn't going to happen for another two days, so we'll have lots of time to get ready for it." I hope, he added silently. 

"I hope you're right." Kagome said, still not entirely convinced. While she agreed that the demonic aura was faint enough to not be worrisome, just that fact that demons were invading ahead of time was certainly troublesome enough. And her bad feelings have never failed so far.

"If you keep worrying you're not going to be focused when we get there." Inu-Yasha scolded. "Listen, I promise not to leave you this time. I'm going to make sure you don't get kidnapped or hurt or anything. I'll protect you, don't worry."

Kagome blinked. "What?" Had he just promised to protect her? Him? Loud, rude, obnoxious, selfish, jerk-faced Inu-Yasha? The same… the same promise he gave Kikyou?

Inu-Yasha looked annoyed. "You heard me girl, I said I'll protect you! Feh, are you deaf or something? You're so useless." He grumbled to himself as they neared the city; it was within sight now. Kagome just smiled, thinking that maybe she was over-reacting. After all, if her guardian angel Inu-Yasha was there to protect her, what could go wrong?

"I see them." The demon said loosely into it's cell phone, hidden by the shadows of the building it rested in. It carefully watched as Inu-Yasha and his task flew closer to the city, completely unawares. 

_"Good_._"_ A voice crackled from the phone's receiver. _"Keep them in your sights. Remember what must be done. And keep contact to a minimum."_

The spy snorted as it leaned against the window of the empty apartment. "Contact to a minimum, m'Lord? It's a bleeding kidnapping operation! How's I'm supposed to keep contact to a minimum?" 

_"You know perfectly well what I mean."_ The other voice hissed. _"Keep away from the threeblood until it's time."_

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." The demon nodded vaguely, clawing a pattern into the window, smirking at the surprise it was going to leave the occupants of the apartment. "Understand, m'Lord. They're almost here. I'll contact you when the operation's complete."

_"Watch yourself. This one did not hire you for your silver tongue but for your abilities. And watch for the other trespasser as well."_

"Other..?" The demon echoed, then smiled, red eyes glinting. "Ah right, _him_. Don't worry m'Lord. Everything's going fine. Sneaking in and sneaking out, no problem. Report later." With that it clicked off the cell phone and watched the half-angel and the Reborn girl in the distance for a moment, eyes flitting over to the clock that hung on the wall. After a moment it pulled out it's cell phone again and dialled a different number, bringing it up to it's ear as it waited for the other end to be picked up.

The phone clicked for a moment before some silence then a smooth voice. _"Trespasser, you have news?"_

The shadow grinned again, watching out the window. "Of course, m'Lord." It hissed. "Everything's going as perfectly planned…"

Kagura leaned against the wall of the castle, feeling bored, disgusted and used as usual. Naraku had brought the group of Seven back to life and now was debriefing the leader on everything that had happened and was to happen. Kagura heard muffled voices every once in a while, but otherwise nothing. She had a feeling though that she was to do something soon.

"Kagura." As if she had predicted what was to happen next, the door opened beside her, Naraku's voice beckoning from inside. Trying to keep a poker face, the wind demon turned to face the room, where Naraku and his guest were sitting. 

The resurrected human that was sitting there was well built and had a handsome face with hard eyes and a dark braid. He was dressed in average garb from the earlier Sengoku period, which was where he had lived and died twice. Attached to his back as a large, thick sword with an elaborate handle; the sword itself was the size of it's carrier and looked well used while it's master looked well used to it. 

The leader of the Seven smiled neither coldly nor warmly towards the entering Kagura, a smile that told her that he was merely being diplomatic and thought himself the better. He gave a brief nod to Kagura as she nodded back and promptly looked to her master for instructions.

Naraku, who had watched the silent communication, nodded and mentioned with a small gesture to the human before him. "Kagura, you remember our old friend Bankotsu, do you not?"

Kagura didn't answer expect for a nod. Stop playing around and just get to the point, she thought angrily but refused to show her impatience in her features. 

Naraku made no indication to show that he read Kagura's actions, but Bankotsu watched her carefully, almost calculatingly. He remembered this demon that had served Naraku loyally yet seemed as independent as the wind she controlled; there was something odd about her. He shifted his gaze back over to Naraku, not wanting to seem that he had grown an interest in Kagura but already he was calculating how to use that interest to his advantage. 

Naraku was continuing with the lack of expression on his face, the cold smile reflecting only in his eyes. Bankotsu matched him smile for cold smile; this time he knew what he was up against.

"Kagura here will escort you to the mortal plane, where you will meet Inu-Yasha and his task, the Reborn girl I want you to fetch for this Naraku. I already have an agent working to disable the girl. The only thing your men will have to do is kill Inu-Yasha."

Bankotsu did not even flicker an eyelid as he coolly responded. "And you resurrected seven of the best killers on any of the planes to do it for you? One little hanyou? Or, should I say, the son of the hanyou now." 

Naraku knew where Bankotsu was headed and smiled ever so slightly. "The Seven, the Shicinin-tai… you are a group. Humans, ruthless killers none the less, but a group all the same. You function with each other and I, Naraku, knew that you would never agree to any of my terms unless I brought you all back. I've expended my power to make sure your group stays that way."

So he's gotten smarter, but still talks like a snake, Bankotsu thought with a smirk, his eyes still hard. He nodded. "Do I bring my entire gang…?"

"No." Naraku responded simply. "The Fourth Lord of Hell watches us and many leaving at once would be suspicious. Bring two, whomever you wish. I suppose you've been a dead soul long enough to know the connections of Hell…" he let the sentence fade but it was plainly obvious that he was not expecting an answer. Bankotsu only nodded before standing and giving a short bow. 

"Well then Naraku, I don't see anymore point in wasting time. I'll go choose my men to complete the job and then we'll wait for the rest of your orders, _Master_." He said the word deliberately, warning Naraku that he was in charge of himself and no one would control him. Naraku only nodded, still smiling coldly as Bankotsu turned and left the room with Kagura, doing her best not to look like she wanted to kill him, following. Things have changed in four-hundred years, Naraku warned silently, and humans, above all, should know that the best.

Bankotsu walked purposefully down the halls, letting Kagura walk by his side only because he did not know the way back to his men. No conversation was held between them, no communication, just silence hanging in the dead, still air broken only by the slight 'swsh' of their feet on the boards. Kagura motioned that they had reached the quarters and Bankotsu walked up and threw the door open, greeting his men with a hard face, but this time the eyes were smiling. 

"What's the news?" The closest one, a tall man with grey hair asked.

Bankotsu nodded. "Renkotsu, Suikotsu, Ginkotsu, Kyoukotsu, Moukotsu and Jakotsu. Naraku resurrected us all to kill Inu-Yasha, again. He's just told me what he wants me to do. Only two of us can go and kill the bastard and his whore."

"Who will go, Bankotsu-sama?" A man wrapped in cloth hissed. Bankotsu thought for a moment.

"Jakotsu, Kyoukotsu, you can go take care of him." He ordered while seating himself. Two of the humans stood up, one small and the other unusually large, both grinning with anticipation. 

"Ani-ki! I get to met Inu-Yasha-kun again! Oh, but what a gift this is for me!"

"Kuku, leave the insect to us, Bankotsu-sama."

Bankotsu smiled now. This time, he swore. This time they were going to win.

 "Inu-Yasha, I have a very bad feeling about this…" Kagome said, looking around warily. "I have a feeling we're being watched."

"Feh." Inu-Yasha snorted, watching all the mortals of Tokyo going about their daily lives as always, not knowing that they were two days, not even, away from the apocalypse. As much as he hated to admit it, Kagome's worries scared him. He would do his best to get both their minds off of it, but he'd be more careful now, and never let her out of his sight. "You worry too much girl. You'll be fine, don't worry."

Kagome eyed him. "Why do I get the feeling that merely because you're saying it worries me more?"

"Feh." Was his reply. She sighed. "Fine then Inu-Yasha. We should find the demons here and get rid of them and then go looking for Sango-chan and Miroku." She began walking down a street, randomly following the strange, chilling feeling.

She's avoiding me on purpose, Inu-Yasha concluded with narrow eyes. Then he realized his task was wandering away without him. "Oi!" He ran up to her, catching her arm. "Don't go anywhere without me! I'm not letting you get kidnapped again. This is happening far too often."

Kagome looked at Inu-Yasha in mild surprise. It was strange and a little odd to be seeing him act so concerned like this. She was curious. "…Why?"

The tips of Inu-Yasha's ears turned pink as he looked away and snorted. "Feh. I'm your guardian angel girl, get that through your head. I'm supposed to protect my task; it's my duty."

Kagome felt her heart fall and she nodded understandingly, pulling her arm away from him. "So I'm just your job, nothing more."

Inu-Yasha was beginning to get angry. What in the hells was wrong with her? Why did she have to act to fucking temperamental all the time, like every damn thing was his fault? He was getting tired of it, and he decided that he was going to tell her. 

"Kagome, I don't know what the hell's wrong with you, but stop taking it out on me, ok? The damned invasion is in two days, we don't have time to waste for me to be following you around like a.. a… an animal because you can't seem to take care of yourself!" He growled. "I'm sorry if you can't stand the fact that a threeblood like me would be an angel and your angel, but listen Kagome, I don't give a fucking damn! You're staying with me and that's final and I don't care what you think or feel!"

Ouch.

Oh boy, who saw that one coming.

He regretted the instant he opened his mouth when he saw the look Kagome was giving him. Her eyes wide and glistening with tears, she took a few steps back from him before turning around, fully intent on running off again. Quickly he snapped out and grabbed her arm. "Kagome, I–"

"Leave me alone!" Kagome slapped him, her words stinging as much as the blow. As her unsure guardian loosened his grip for a second, Kagome took the chance to pull free of him and race off. Instantly Inu-Yasha started running after her, but paused. Part of him wanted to leave Kagome to suffer whatever consequences she would face; they'd be her own fault. But the other part of him wanted to make sure that Kagome was kept safe, that he'd never make the same mistake twice…

He's regretting it, isn't he?

What gave you that clue?

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha made up his mind and took off after Kagome down the streets, hoping he was going to get another chance, that he wouldn't screw up this time. "Kagome!"

Makes it really easy, doesn't he?

Good luck, not that you'll need it.

Yeah, yeah, just don't forget your part.

Memorized like drama homework.

Just shut up and do your work.

Kagome raced through the streets, knowing that she was just misinterpreting Inu-Yasha's words, knowing that Inu-Yasha had misinterpreted hers, that every other time she was away from Inu-Yasha bad things happened that yet wanting to be far, far away from  him, as far as possible. She ran through people, cars and buildings, until Inu-Yasha had completely lost sight of her. She hid in the back of a restaurant, curling up. Now she had done it. She had completely lost her guardian and now she was a sitting duck; she couldn't even sense Inu-Yasha with all the people around. 

 Nothing to do now but wait, she thought. Someone will find her, be it Inu-Yasha, Sango, Miroku or a demon. She knew she wouldn't have to wait long. 

If fact, she waited even less then she expected.

Kagome turned around and jumped to her feet the minute she felt the demonic aura behind her, absent one moment and flaring up the next. She backed up a little, a bit worried. Then a second aura flashed behind her, causing her to whirl around again. She knew this was on purpose; they were surrounding her. They wanted her to run.

"I don't care!" She shouted at them, the ones she couldn't see. "I don't care what you want me to do, I'm not doing it! Just kill me or pull more jewels out of me or eat me or whatever the hell you want me for! Just get it over with!"

The demon behind her did as she told. 

She screamed when the cold arms picked her up in a strangle-hold and dragged her outside into the streets. Kagome shouted, yelled and shrieked at the top of her lungs, wondering where her guardian was. "Inu-Yasha! Inu-Yasha, help!"

"Scream louder, maybe he didn't hear you." Her captor chuckled and Kagome stopped her panicking to get a good look at the demon, but there wasn't much to see. The entire demon seemed to be a shadow, solid and transparent at the same time, it's form defined and yet shifting. It's eyes glinted a malicious red as it smiled, filling Kagome with fear and dread. Why wasn't it telling her to shut up, not to attract Inu-Yasha's attention? The only reason it would say that would be…

"Kagome!" Suddenly she heard her guardian's voice and the demon's smile turned dark as it looked over to the half-angel in anticipation. 

"Inu-Yasha, get out of here!" Kagome shouted as the boy landed on a cart and saw her and her captor. 

"Kagome!" he shouted, drawing his sword. 

"No, Inu-Yasha, do–" Kagome's voice was cut off as the demon hit her on the neck, knocking her unconscious. 

"That's enough out of you." it hissed darkly then turned to smile at Inu-Yasha. "What will become of her, little threeblood? How about a game of tag to decide her fate?" with that it took off into the streets, running at an unbelievable speed. Inu-Yasha growled and followed behind, sheathing his weapon so he could run faster.

He tore off into the streets after the demon. The little prick was making it easy by sticking to the streets and running in a fairly straight line; this was obviously just all a game to it. But it's speeds were remarkably fast, it's reflexes quick as it began darting from kiosk to kiosk, building to building, in an effortless attempt to confuse and irritate it's pursuer. 

Inu-Yasha, his ears back as he tried to keep his eyes on his prey, began to notice a pattern. Eyes narrowing he crouched down and sprung into the air, jumping right above the crevice of the apartment building where the demon carrying Kagome appeared a second after. 

"Nice to meet you." Inu-Yasha growled, punching the demon across the face. Startled, the shadow fell to the ground, catching itself just in time. It looked up at Inu-Yasha as the half-angel landed on a telephone pole, ready to pounce. The demon's green eyes frightened Inu-Yasha, glinting with anticipation and amusement, not hatred or even bloodlust. This demon was toying with him, for one reason or another. Inu-Yasha clenched his claws, making sure he'd squeeze that information out of his opponent as soon as he made sure Kagome was safe.

The demon, sensing Inu-Yasha's plan, glanced to the side and took off again, sprinting down an alleyway. Inu-Yasha snarled when he realized where it was going: the shadow demon was going to hide in the shadows. 

Inu-Yasha jumped down and chased after his prey, ears flattened and growl deep in his chest. The demon was quick on it's feet but it seemed to forget that even if Inu-Yasha couldn't see it, he could still follow Kagome's scent until he found her. And he would find her. 

"Get back here you bastard!" Inu-Yasha shouted his first words to demon, pulling out his sword in preparation. The shadow sped up and skirted to the right down the alleypath but Inu-Yasha was faster and decided now he was no longer going to play by the rules. Jumping straight through the wall he leapt through the other side to meet the demon and, with a fanged grin of triumph, slashed the demon right down the back with Tetsusaiga, splitting him in half.

Or so he thought.

Instead he watched in horror as the illusion before him vanished into thin air. A trickster demon… dammit! "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!" He swore, looking around left and right for his stolen task, trying to get a fixing on her. "Kagome! Kagome!"

There! He turned his head and body around to the direction where the scent came from, racing forward. Praying that it wasn't another illusion he turned the corner and hissed. She was lying there in the shadows of the alley, motionless. He quickly ran up to her side, sniffing and recognizing her scent, putting a hand on her shoulder and realizing that it was warm and solid. The real thing, not an illusion, thank Kami.

"Kagome?" He said quietly, slipping his arms under her to pick her up. Then he froze, feeling the warm, sticky liquid on his hands, the scent hitting him full blast. He carefully eased a hand out from under her to look at it in shock and surprise, making his heart stop.

Blood.

Her blood.

From his sword. 

Damn him! That stupid mother-fucking demon, this was all his fault1 He had tricked Inu-Yasha into chasing and attacking him, just so that he would have to be forced to watch his task die in his hands, by his own weapon. Growling, he clenched his fist tightly, as Kagome lay limp in his arms. 

"Dammit Kagome, don't you fucking die on me now!" He shouted at her, putting his hand on her forehead after wiping it off, stroking her hair before pulling her into a tight embrace. "Dammit you stupid bitch! We didn't do all this for nothing! You're not supposed to die like this, not here and not now! You're doing this on purpose! You're making fun of me! I promised you, fucking hell! I promised I'd protect you! I can't fucking protect you when you go running off like that! I can't protect you…" 

"So, how'd it go?"

_"Fine, except the bastard almost hit me! He's better than I thought!"_

"He _is_ Kanake and Inu-Yasha's son."

_"Except twice the charm."_

"Things should be gong smoothly from here. I still have some business to take care of, but nothing major. We'll talk soon."

_"What, and you don't think _I_ have anything to deal with? M'Lord's a tyrant here!"_

"You wanted him. You could have easily picked mine."

_"I know, but m'Lord's just so… pretty!"_

"Don't let him catch you saying that."

_"I won't. Anyways, we should leave now. The line might be bugged."_

"What times we live in now."

_"You said it. I think that even demons are becoming too technologically addicted."_

"Why do you say that?"

_"Think about it. Who ever heard of two telepathic demons using a cell phone?"_

Inu-Yasha stayed with Kagome for a few more moments until the bleeding had completely stopped and then he released his still limp task, lying her against the ground as he took on his outer shirt and wrapped her in it. "Stay here and get better, ok?" He whispered, fixing her hair. "I'm going to kill whoever did this too you."

"Kuku, empty promises son of Inu-Yasha. You'll be dead before you ever reach the _shin'nyu_. Kyoukotsu-sama will make your grave here."

Inu-Yasha's ears turned right around and his hackles rose as he whipped in a circle to face the deep-voiced adversary behind him. A huge, almost ten-foot tall human stood in the streets, cars and people passing through him, a devilish and hungry look in his pig-like face and beady eyes. He grinned, displaying sharp teeth. "I'm going to kill you, threeblood, and I'm going to enjoy it." He raised his thick, meaty arms and clenched his fists. Inu-Yasha growled; he couldn't just leave Kagome like this but he couldn't let this brute just stay here in Tokyo either. He drew his sword. "Fine then, big and ugly. Let's just make this quick. I'm in a bad mood."

Kyoukotsu just bared his inhuman fangs, swinging a fist at Inu-Yasha with brutish force. "It's you who's going to die, threeblood, not this one!"

Inu-Yasha jumped out of the way just in time, Kagome in his arms. He landed on a roof and put the unconscious girl down, mindful of her wounds. He cracked his knuckles and prepared Tetsusaiga. "I warned you buddy," he growled menacingly, "I'm not in a great mood." Without even waiting for a response from the giant he dove right at him, sword at the ready. 

"Fool." Kyoukotsu thundered, grabbing Inu-Yasha in his hands. "I'll crush your bones right here." He chuckled darkly. "And to think you're the son of the hanyou brat that gave Boukotso-sama such a hard time. I never even got to meet him; now Kyoukotsu-sama will be your deathbringer." He smiled as he squeezed tighter.

"Tch, what does he think he's doing?" A slender young man sighed as he watched the scene from the top of a building. He was dressed in a tailored suit with a loose, old-style kimono tied around it as if it were memorabilia he refused to let go. "That fool. Inu-Yasha was as dangerous as he was handsome; his son is also the offspring of that angel bitch. He may even be stronger then his father." He smiled somewhat happily, his loose black hair fluttering as he nodded with the wind, the tarnished but jewelled butterfly clip holding it in place. Then he pouted. "Although Kyoukotsu does seem to be winning. Phoo, I wanted to fight Inu-Yasha's son."

"All's not what it appears, Jakotsu." A dark figure said quietly from the shadows of it's cloak as it stepped up beside the shocked Seven member. "Young Inu-Yasha is quite capable. See the way he smiles; Kyoukotsu was foolish for catching him on a day such as this."

Jakotsu seemed shocked. "_Shin'nyu!_ When did you ever get here?" His eyes narrowed. "And what do you want?"

"I am called Kuro-michi, Jakotsu, and I am older and more able then even Naraku's Kagura. Threats are empty towards me." It smiled and though Jakotsu couldn't see the demon's face, he felt the cold smile and it sent a shiver down his spine. Kami he hated demons, except for the cute ones

Kuro-michi seemed to sense that it had done what it was aiming for, and turned it's head back to face the gruelling duel between Inu-Yasha and Kyoukotsu; the giant, brutish Seven member seemed to be winning. "I am here, Jakotsu, to watch your progress and offer help. Kyoukotsu seems too arrogant and his loss will be none. Instead of using his force to attempt to crush Inu-Yasha, he should try to wound our little friend's chest, as he is missing his protective rats fur. But instead Kyoukotsu wishes to ignore my advice that will be his downfall. Watch."

Sceptical of Naraku's spy, Jakotsu kept ready to grab his well-sized blade as he turned back to watch the fight. Just as he was about to make a comment that Inu-Yasha was soon to be jelly, the half-angel suddenly smiled. Before Kyoukotsu could react his hand was dropping to the ground; it vanished before it even hit the earth and Inu-Yasha was in the air, blood dripping off of his sword.

Kyoukotsu growled. "You damned brat! You'll be killed for that!" He threw a punch at the half-angel but Inu-Yasha avoided it, instead cutting Kyoukotsu's entire arm off. Growing weak from lack of blood and with useless limbs now, Kyoukotsu could only glare at the Inu-Yasha as the much smaller fighter prepared for the final blow. 

"He is useless now." Kuro-michi said, breaking Jakotsu's concentration on the fight. "The shard of the Shikon jewel may be able to resurrect his limbs, but it will take time. Inu-Yasha will instead just kill him, find the jewel and take it for himself."

Jakotsu frowned. "Not in my life… or third life, whatever." He pulled out a strange weapon that resembled a sword but seemed shaped differently. "Inu-Yasha-kun's not getting the jewel that belongs to Ani-ki, not if we're going to win."

Kuro-michi just smiled. "Of course."

Ignoring the shadowy demon beside him Jakotsu pulled his arm back and flung it forward. Like a party streamer the many blades of his weapon, all joined at the end, lashed out like a thick, bladed whip, landing expertly on the forehead of Kyoukotsu. Before the bleeding brute could protest Jakotsu whipped it back again, taking the Shikon shard with him. Kyoukotsu was dust before the jewel even reached his former ally.

Jakotsu frowned pityingly. "It's so sad that Kyoukotsu had to die like that." The shadow beside him just nodded. 

Inu-Yasha followed the strange weapon back to it's owner, staring in surprise at the strangely clothed human on the building. The human waved cheerfully and jumped down, landed only a rooftop away. 

"Inu-Yasha-_kun_!" He shouted, emphasising the addition and making the half-angel wince. "Oh, you're just as cute as your father and you kept your adorable little ears! Oh, how I love them!" The man giggled, raising his weapon before smirking. "I guess this is where we fight and I win for Ani-ki." He smiled childishly. "And I get to keep your cute ears. _Hajime!_" With impossible speeds he launched his whip-like weapon at the half-angel. Stunned and still slightly weak from his last battle, Inu-Yasha just barely had enough time to jump out of the way. He gave the finger to his opponent as he landed, but Jakotsu only smiled. 

Then Inu-Yasha felt the cold blade strike deep inside him from the back, whipping him around and dragging him a few feet before sliding loose and snapping back to it's owner. As pain lanced through him Inu-Yasha swore as he got up, knowing that he should have known the whip would have a backlash effect. Jakotsu looked as though he were enjoying himself as he raised his arm to strike again.

Suddenly the shadow appeared beside Jakotsu, shaking it's head and whispering to the human. Inu-Yasha went taunt, growling as he glared hatred at the demon that made him hurt Kagome. As he prepared to strike out, Jakotsu turned back and waved again, this time looking forlorn. 

"Looks like Ani-ki wants me back! Bye-bye Inu-Yasha-kun! Jakotsu will be seeing you soon!" With that the two of them disappeared in the blink of an eye. Inu-Yasha felt even more disappointed. Great, Naraku had a trespasser on his side and he had re-resurrected the Shichinin-tai. Things were definitely not going his way. 

Quickly sniffing around to make sure there were no more enemies, he turned around and ran back to where he left Kagome. She was still unconscious and pale, but the colour was coming back and she was breathing steadily. Carefully, ignoring his own injuries, Inu-Yasha picked her up and cradled her close. Glancing around he jumped down and softly landed on the pavement, flying around until he found a hotel to stay in until Kagome got better. Let Sango and Miroku find them on their own; he had made a promise to Kagome and he was going to keep it.

End Chapter 25

Whee! And again!

AN: _shin'nyu_ means 'trespasser' (just thought I'd tell you) 

So what did you think? This was a really long chapter, I know. I wanted Kyoukotsu to die before the chapter ended, but there were a lot of elements I wanted to put in as well, like the tension of Inu-Yasha chasing the shadowy-thingy. And I know that weird phone conversation in the middle of the chapter may seem weird to everyone, but it's important. My sister was reading this and she pointed out a few things. The conversation was actually more ahead of that part, and a lot longer. Oh, and to confuse you, those two conversationalists aren't new characters. You already know them. ^_^

And the Shichinin-tai are here! I spent a long time studying them to make sure I got them right and after a while at looking at pictures I'm decided three things: 1, Jakotsu is actually Sango's older brother. He looks like Kohaku, except he's more femmy. 2, Renkotsu is a really old super saiyan; so old, in fact, that his golden hair turned gray. Either that, or he's a strange, old relative of Vash the Stampede (but the saiyan one fits him better) And 3, Bankotsu is the child of Duo and Hilde sent back and time and giving sharp things to play with. Duo's hair, Hilde's hair colour and a big sword. Oh, and one other thing: I need more sleep.

Shout outs:

**link no miko: **--- Oh, and the 'three loyal fans' thing was a joke, but if I could pick it would probably be you, -- and Talon Skydragon, although the last one has reviewed in a while (hint_hint_) It was just a little jokey, because I've had a slight decrease in chapter: review ratio. And I'll try to put the previews up as much as possible, since it helps me and you guys too. But not this week, since it's special. And don't you love her conscience? I actually based it after one of my friends, although I didn't know it at the time. Hurrah for your funky mood!

Hey, and one other thing! Since I'm just _so_ generous I've decided to give you **a Valentines day special**! On Friday the 14th I'll post up the next chapter of the story ahead of time, since it's just a lil' pointless fluff anyway. It's quite the coincidence, since I planned what each chapter was long ago, and on Wed last week while I was writing this chapter I noticed that chap 26, the little fluff I put in just to lighten the mood before things got really heavy, was going to come right after Valentines day weekend. Stunned by this strange, ironic twist of fate (which is irony in itself to me, but you'll see why later) I decided to be nice and up my workload by bringing  the Monday chapter to you on Friday! Aren't I nice? Of course, that means no chapter on Monday, but I'm sorry for that. 

Nee-ways, I'm off again to work. See you all later! And review to give me hints for what you want tweaked in the story. I'll change around if I like some of the ideas and I may even insert you briefly if you ask, since I'm in SUCH a great mood ^_^

~Ama

Experience of the week: Playing Final Fantasy VII with the DDR game pad. 


	26. Chapter 26: Starlight

Hey everyone! It's the special Valentines day special! Isn't it special? Or at least it would have been had FFN not shut down it's sources on Feb 14. Life's cruel sometimes, and it shouldn't be as cruel as it was to you guys. And me! I stayed up until four in the morning (I had a PD day anyway) working on this, only to find that I couldn't post it! I would have smashed something, most likely the computer, had not my utmost voice of reason stop me. 

Oh, and forgive the utmost corniness and pointlessness of this chapter. It was intended as Valentines day pointlessness. But now it's not Vday. Some things make me so angry…. *shakes fist angrily* Also, being writing during the dark hours of the night/morning, one can only expect pointlessness. 

 And now! What you've all been waiting for! 

Disclaimer: *falls asleep*

Shout outs:

**Kagomechan89:** I'm happy that you find my story so intriguing that you feel you have to review every third chapter. Trust me, it makes Ama very happy ^_^. And I'm also glad that you think that my story is one of the greatest you've ever read. Trust me, having strange dreams after watching around 70 episodes of IY in one week gives you some very strange story plans and this is what happened. And I missed the 'bamboo' thing. Yeah, it's supposed to be 'baboon' but I'm dyslexic (yet I can spell that word) Heh, heh… And about your question on the angels, since I don't know if I explain it clearly enough or not, just so you're not confused, I basically wrote it that it's three different existences, or dimensions if you want to call them that, and the three main races with the highest power: angels, mortals and demons. It's all very confusing I admit and I'm horrible at explaining it but my website's almost done and should be up soonish and I'll have the whole explanation there. Happy?

**Inusammy02:** My story's number one? Hurrah! And are you the same Inusammy as before (I don't recall the 02) because I've read some of your stories and you have quite the talent yourself. Although I don't remember if I reviewed or not. If I didn't then gomen and I'll go do that straight away!

**Crystal Twilight:** Yes, to sum it up, poor Kago. It certainly must suck to get in a fight with someone like Inu-Yasha, then get kidnapped, then knocked out and then nearly sliced in half, by Inu-Yasha. I would say that it is one of her worst days yet, next to nearly getting killed by Kagura at the festival and that time in grade 3 when the class brat thought it was funny to put a carp in her shoe locker on Friday afternoon so she wouldn't find it until the Monday morning after.

**Ava / Okonomiyaki-chan:** I'm very sorry to both of you, you're so right! 'Boukotsu's' name IS Bankotsu! I don't know how I missed that! Thank you for pointing it out! Many hugs and pressies to you! Pressies! And the hugs are by very nice looking bishes.

**Chapter 26:**

** Starlight:**

Kagome woke up slowly, feeling woozy and slightly disorientated from what happened. Then again, what _had_ happened? She had run off from Inu-Yasha, then got attacked by a demon that planned to use her to get to her guardian angel and then it went black. Was Inu-Yasha okay? Where was she? Suddenly alert, she sat up quickly. 

She gasped loudly and dropped back down, letting out a slight whimper from the pain in her back that had lanced through her worse than anything she had ever known. She felt that her worst fears had come true and Inu-Yasha had been captured. Was she now a prisoner, for Naraku maybe? What was gong on? She was lying on something soft and she didn't seem to be chained but she couldn't see Inu-Yasha for the darkness. 

Suddenly two bright green eyes were looking straight into hers and Kagome drew back, the demon's hand over her mouth before the girl could scream. Almost having a heart attack Kagome recognized the mysterious catgirl she had met before. She seemed to be dressed in a different outfit, this one black as if mocking ninjas, with a band around her forehead and underneath the pointed ears at the top of her head. She was grinning and held a finger to her lips with a 'sshh' before letting go of Kagome. 

"You almost gave me a heart attack!" Kagome whispered, catching her breath as her back shot tiny things of pain and made her wince. "What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you and dog-demon don't get into any trouble," the girl winked, "of _any_ sort."

"Wha…?" Kagome blinked as she got used to the light and realized that she was in a hotel room; a honeymoon suite to be exact. She felt her cheeks turn bright red as she realized it. "Where's Inu-Yasha?"

The cat demon grinned so wide Kagome was worried her head would split. "I don't think I should tell you this since you've had enough scares today, but what the hell. Turn around."

A little wary of this strange friend she seemed to have made, Kagome rolled over slightly, mindful of her back, to find herself looking at the sleeping face of her guardian. It must be a new moon that night, because his doggy ears had vanished to be replaced by normal human ones and his silver hair had now turned a pitch black. For a split second she noted how peaceful he looked when he was sleeping; then she realized that they were sharing a bed and she almost screamed.

Again the catgirl's hand went over her mouth and she shushed Kagome as the girl rolled back over, eyes wide. "What the hell?" she sputtered as soon as the demon removed her hand. 

The cat giggled. "He was dead tired from the fights after he brought you here so he brought you to the biggest room, thinking there'd be two beds. Instead he found this place but he put you down anyway and was too tired to even bitch about it. He was going to sleep on the floor but first he wanted to make sure you were okay. Then he fell asleep."

"Fights?" Kagome inquired. The catgirl nodded gravely. 

"Yeah, first the trespasser demon that kidnapped you led him on a merry chase and then he finally got to you, with quite the close call." She ran a line down her back to indicate. "You're lucky the shadow was quick, or else some slicing in have would have happened. He almost had a nervous breakdown when he found out what he did."

"Really?" Kagome looked worried, but at least now she knew why her back hurt so much. Poor Inu-Yasha, this was all her fault, again. "Then what?"

"The this huge guy appeared and he fought him and nearly got crushed to death, then after that a smaller guy, who I think is gay, came and put a hole through his chest." The demon girl explained everything while making motions with her hands. "Even with all the lack of blood from the fights and the blooding he managed to bring you here. And the fact that it's his time of the month didn't help either."

Kagome nodded with understanding before she picked out a word she didn't seem to recognize. "What's a blooding?"

"You don't know?" the catgirl cocked her head curiously, then shrugged. "Well, from what I gathered Inu-Yasha was so worried about you dying that he transferred blood from himself to you so that the demon blood would heal you faster, and it would also make up for blood loss. It's a very complicated procedure, but he did it perfectly fine. Of course, it meant he wasn't at his best while fighting, but that's okay."

"He gave me his blood…" Kagome put a hand to her heart, wondering if her angel's blood was still coursing through her. She wondered if it would always stay there, as she glanced back at the sleeping boy and her smile softened. 

But something was still wrong. "And you just watched all of this?"

"Oh no, I wasn't around at all, except the hotel part." The girl shook her head. "I knew about the shadow because they're telepathic demons and so are cat youkai, to an extent. I could sense it in the area and it seemed to be moving quickly, distracted so it's thoughts were open news. The two fights I know because the big guy was _big_ and attracted otherworldly spectators, and by the time Inu-Yasha beat him they all saw the gay one and I heard it from a bird while you guys were sleeping. As for the blooding, I know that because of the marks on your wrist." She pointed at a crude but efficient design on Kagome's left wrist. 

Kagome looked at it in curiosity. "This is the mark of the blooding?" 

"Yep, and it will stay with you forever. A blooding's a very rare and very special thing. You should be proud and grateful, even if it is a dog." The catgirl smiled and stuck her tongue out at the sleeping Inu-Yasha, who was still unawares of her presence.

"One more thing."

"What is this, twenty questions?" The catgirl laughed. "Do you get a prize for this one if I can't answer? Okay, shoot."

"What's your name?" 

The catgirl stopped laughing and looked at Kagome curiously, blinking her green eyes while her tail twitched back and forth. "You mean I never told you?"

"No." Kagome shook her head. "And I'd like to know."

The cat youkai grinned, showing her fangs. "Certainly! It's Netsuna with an 'a'!" She jumped to the top of the overhang above the bed and looked down at Kagome, still grinning. "Quick as a cat and sly as a fox, a tough little warrior and smart as some rocks." She stuck her tongue out at an imaginary foe. "That's what the stupid Micky always said anyway."

Kagome almost laughed at the childish antics of Netsuna. The catgirl swung upside down and waved. "Sango and Miroku should be coming by soon. I'll leave you two alone to get some rest but don't do anything naugh-ty!" With that she did a summersault down and fazed through the floor, leaving Kagome alone, in a honeymoon suite, in a bed with Inu-Yasha.  

Kagome blinked a few times, trying to recuperate herself. Then she decided that some water would be nice and she started to get up when something heavy landed on her. Before she screamed she realized it was Inu-Yasha's arm as he wrapped it around her and pulled her closer, still fast asleep.

Her heart beating a hundred times a minute, Kagome struggled then decided that it would be easier to just relax, since the more she fought the tighter Inu-Yasha's grip got. When she relaxed it seemed to comfort him as he buried his face in her neck and made little noises in his throat. Kagome thought she was going to faint.

Soon though Inu-Yasha went back into his deep sleep and everything was quiet again. Taking a few breaths Kagome slowly began to inch forward, gently lifting Inu-Yasha's arm from off of her neck. It felt surprisingly warm against her, and soft as well. As it was half off she glanced down to make sure she wasn't going to wake her guardian up as she made her escape.

This time she screamed.

"Wha-what!" Inu-Yasha sat up, grabbing for his sword. Something was wrong with Kagome and he looked over. "Kagome, wha-"

"PERVERT!" A pillow hit him straight in the face as Kagome quickly conjured herself some clothes to avoid further embarrassment. "Why wasn't I wearing any clothes!"

"What?" Inu-Yasha threw the pillow off and blinked, then remembered what Kagome was talking about. "Oh, that. Feh, you were bleeding and your clothes were in the way for me to fix you up. So I got rid of them. And you were still wearing your underwear." He argued.

"Underwear isn't clothes." Kagome stated darkly, trying to compose herself. Then she glared at him again. "And why aren't you wearing anything?" As soon as she snapped it she noticed it full shock and blushed, thankful for the dark light.

Inu-Yasha crossed his arms and would have folded his ears but noticed then that they were missing. He put a short-nailed finger up to his human ones, snorted disgustedly and shrugged. "I was stabbed by an opponent and I had already used my shirt to cover you up after I fixed you up. I couldn't clean it so I threw it out. And I'm still wearing my pants." When Kagome's face told him that she didn't believe him he snorted again. "It _is_ summer." He stated, as if that offered all the explanation it needed.

"That… I… it… but…we were in one bed!" Frustrated Kagome stormed over to the mini-bar and sat down on one of the stools, putting her head in her hands. "Thank heavens Sango and Miroku didn't walk in then. Especially Miroku."

The black-haired Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes and got out of the bed. "Look, it's not as if I haven't seen you sleeping, been in the same room as you while you slept or anything like that. Sleeping in a bed, especially one as big as that, shouldn't mean anything."

Kagome looked at her guardian in shock. "Inu-Yasha, you do know what those beds are for, right?"

"Sleeping…?" Inu-Yasha said slowly, realizing that he was missing something. Kagome's look wasn't helping. 

"Inu-Yasha, this is a honeymoon suite. For people who just got married. And are on their honeymoon." As she said this she noticed that Inu-Yasha was stilling drawing a blank. She sighed. "Haven't any of your other tasks gotten married?"

"No."

Kagome put her head in her hands. She couldn't believe she had to explain this to Inu-Yasha. "It's.. well…" she felt her cheeks get red. "You do know what happens after people get married right?" Blank stare. "Babies?"

Inu-Yasha's eyes widened as she realized what she meant and he glanced back at the silk-covered, heart-shaped bed. "Shit. So that's why it looks so gay."

"We're just lucky it wasn't going to be occupied while we were here." Kagome decided she didn't want to finish that thought. She quickly changed the subject. "Uh, Inu-Yasha… you're still not wearing a shirt…"

"So?" Inu-Yasha glanced down. "You girls watch shows with shirtless guys all the time."

Kagome blushed. "Why are we talking about this?"

Her guardian shrugged. "There's nothing else to talk about. And you're the one who keeps getting sore about it."

"Inu-Yasha we were practically naked, in the same bed, in a _honeymoon suite!_" Why wasn't this getting through his head, Kagome thought. Again Inu-Yasha shrugged, half-grinning. 

"So? Nothing I haven't seen before."

"Oh, that looked like it hurt." The catgirl hissed as she watched through the binoculars. 

"What happened?" Miroku asked curiously, squinting but unable to see anything in the room across the street from their apartment building he and Sango and their angels had taken one-night residence in. The cat youkai Netsuna had greeted them and then pointed out that Inu-Yasha and Kagome were in the same room of a hotel across from them. Surprisingly it had been Sango, not Miroku, who pointed out that they were barely wearing anything and in a honeymoon suite. Now the girl was eating some taki soup and shaking her head at the antics of Miroku and the catgirl as they watched the progress in the bedroom.

"Inu-Yasha told Kagome that seeing her in her underwear was nothing new, so she left a handprint on his face." Netsuna explained as she passed the binoculars over to Miroku while keeping her ears trained across the street. 

"Why don't you just leave them to themselves?" Sango asked while giving Kirrara and Shippo the rest of her dinner. "Give them their privacy."

"Are you kidding Sango, this is important." Miroku said while leaning out the window. "Inu-Yasha and Kagome have just decided to start a war using the curtain rods."

"She'll never win." Netsuna squinted, making out the tiny figures but tugging on the straps to indicate to Miroku she wanted the specs soon. "Challenge Inu-Yasha with anything long and wieldable? He's the best with those things." She started laughing and Miroku snickered as well. "Lucky Kagome." He stated with a chortle. Sango rolled her eyes. 

"What's so funny?" Shippo wondered aloud, causing Miroku and Netsuna to snicker more. Slightly annoyed, Sango walked up and pulled the binoculars right out of Miroku's hands. "He-hey!" He and the demon protested. "That was our entertainment!" Netsuna pouted.

Sango put the glasses away. "You two have had enough fun." She said, sitting back down. "We're going to leave Inu-Yasha and Kagome-chan alone for tonight and that includes spying on them."

The catgirl grinned, showing her fangs and winking. "C'mon Sango, you know you're a curious as we are about just how they're going to spend their night together in a honeymoon suite."

Sango frowned, not looking amused. "Well Houshi-sama, I believe you've managed to find someone just as perverted as you. I'm going downstairs to see if there's anything to eat." With that she walked through the door, leaving everyone else bewildered as Kirrara mewled and jumped down, running after her task. 

Netsuna's confused look turned into a mischievous grin. "Oh, I get it." she said, with a sly look at Miroku. "How are you at flying?"

"Flying?" Miroku looked confused. "Well I'm no expert but I can do what I need to should the time come."

"Mm-hmm." Netsuna nodded. "And stopping yourself before you hit the ground?"

Miroku looked confused. "What do you mean by tha-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" He was cut off as Netsuna promptly pushed him out the window, waving cheerfully. 

"Guess you better learn quickly." She called down before floating into the air herself. 

"Miroku!" Shippo squealed, jumping down after his task. Netsuna giggled and climbed to the top of the building to observe the city. Her job was so much fun.

"Sit!" Kagome shrieked from the top of the doorframe, just as Inu-Yasha jumped at her. Instead of falling to the ground like he normally did, her guardian angel merely joined her up top and grabbed her, bringing her back down to the floor. Kagome blinked in disbelief.

"Wh-why didn't it work?" She wondered aloud. Inu-Yasha grinned as he dropped her on the ground, satisfied to hear her emit a squeaking noise. "I'm a human now. It doesn't work on humans because it's specifically designed for guardian angels."

"So I'm stuck with you all night like this? Dammit." Kagome moaned, climbing onto the bed and folding her arms in mock despair. To her surprise Inu-Yasha actually looked hurt.

"Well fine then, leave." He grunted, going over to the mini bar and pulling out a bottle. He opened it, sniffed it and shrugged, pouring it's contents into a glass. He then sat down on the stool and took a sip before eyeing his befuddled task. "Well? Aren't you going to leave?"

"I didn't mean it!" Kagome protested, folding her hands. "Inu-Yasha, that was a joke."

"Keh." Inu-Yasha chugged his drink and fiddled with the glass, spinning it across the furnished top. Kagome got up and walked over to sit down beside him, grabbing the glass and putting it away. "Inu-Yasha…"

"Leave already!" He growled, brushing her away and standing up. "I'm not stupid so don't try to cover up. I know you can't stand me." He stood by the window, glaring at the black hole in the sky that hid the moon, that deprived him of his otherworldly powers, that rendered him useless so he couldn't fly as fast, fight as hard, heal was well. He was a sitting duck like this and that fight with Kyoukotsu and Jakotsu didn't help one fucking bit. In frustration he punched the wall, growling when he didn't make a dent since human spirits couldn't effect the material world. He heard Kagome come up behind him and turned to face the entire window, not wanting to talk to her, hating it when she saw him like this.

"Inu-Yasha, I didn't meant that, that's not true." Kagome said, almost pleading. Inu-Yasha said nothing and Kagome put a hand on his shoulder. He made as if to brush it off but she grabbed his hand as well. "Inu-Yasha, what's wrong?" He made no reply. "Inu-Yasha!"

"Go away." He muttered and Kagome's eyes narrowed. "No." She said softly. "I won't go away. Something's bothering you and I won't leave until you tell me. Now what is-"

"Kagome, do you think this is funny?" Inu-Yasha suddenly whirled around, his deep violet eyes flashing with anger, sorrow and pain. "Who's laughing Kagome? Who's laughing? Look at me! Like this!" He clenched his fist and punched the wall again, doing no damage. "If I were a demon I could break that wall in half! I could go out there and fight that Jakotsu guy and win! I could find out whoever kidnapped you and kill them! What can I do when I'm like this? Nothing! Not a fucking thing except hide so that demons don't come and rip me apart and take you away again!" Suddenly realizing that he just spilled everything out to her, he turned away and slumped onto the bed, lying with his back to her. 

Was that it, Kagome thought. He was blaming himself for what happened to me? She remembered with how much contempt people called him a threeblood; even Kikyou the girl he loved. He must hate what he is so much. He must hate being helpless like this, especially as arrogant as he is. She opened her mouth to say something but then decided against it. Instead she sadly turned to the window and sat there, staring out at the sky. Moments passed until she thought that maybe Inu-Yasha was asleep as she could feel her own fatigue begin to claim her. Her suspicions died, however, when her guardian moved and sat up, watching her.

It was still another minute before he spoke. "Kagome, what the hell are you doing?"

"It's bright outside."

A snort. "What the hell kind of statement is that?"

Kagome looked at him, her usual scowl at his selfish comments instead replaced by a sad smile. "There's no moon." She told him softly. 

"So?"

"The moon's the brightest thing in the sky at night. Wouldn't you think that without the moon the world would be plunged in total darkness?"

"Eh?" Curious, Inu-Yasha stood up and went to stand behind her, glancing up at the sky out the window. He snorted. "Baka, there's city lights."

Kagome smiled. "But even without them the sky's still bright. Do you know why?" He snorted a reply, unable to think of anything. "The stars." She told him, as if speaking to a child. "They're just little tiny pinpricks of light, miniscule, insignificant compared to the light of the moon beside them. But still the moon waxes, wanes and disappears completely but the stars are always shining, giving us light all the time despite the fact that they're so small."

Inu-Yasha smiled sardonically. "Since when did you get all philosophical and shit? Hell girl, you can barely pass math much les understand half the gibber you just spat out there."

Kagome's smile twisted but she straightened it soon. She would let that pass for now but tomorrow morning when the rosary was in full effect… "Baka, the point I'm trying to make is just because the big bright moon managed to disappear doesn't mean you're useless now. There's still the starlight, tiny but consistent."

"I'm a burning ball of gas, billions of light years away." Inu-Yasha stated flatly. "Woo." 

Kagome rolled her eyes and turned to face him. "Inu-Yasha, why is it when I actually try to have a discussion with you, you always manage to become even more of an asshole than you already are?"

His eyes hardened. "Kagome, I didn't ask for you star analogy I just wanted you away from the wi-"

"I love you."

He blinked in surprise. "Wh-wha?"

Kagome blushed red. What had she said? Why the hell did she just tell him, straight like that? Did she even love him… or was it just some schoolgirl crush brought on by the fact that he was powerful and good-looking? Looking at him she disagreed; certainly he was adorable right now looking so confused, but there was no way she would willingly subject herself to actually wanting to spend the rest of her life with this jerk. "You heard me the first time." She said, avoiding his gaze.

Inu-Yasha seemed to recover and he quickly looked the other way. "Feh. You're just saying that."

That struck a nerve. "Why would I?" She looked up at him, tears suddenly glistening in her eyes. "Why would I say something like that when I know that you're a jerk and Kikyou's out there? Why would I say that just to 'make you feel better'? I'm not that kind of person Inu-Yasha."

Inu-Yasha felt very uncomfortable by the fact she was near crying in front of him. "Kagome, I know, I just…" He ran a hand through his hair awkwardly. "Dammit, look at me. I'm a threeblood. A worthless threeblood."

"You're a star." Kagome argued as the tears welled up more. Why was he doing this? "And a jerk! An insensitive jerk…" She dissolved into tears, fatigue, shock and everything that had happened recently all coming down into one on her now.

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha looked at her in surprise. "Kagome, please don't cry. Please, I'm sorry." In a sudden move that shocked even himself her reached out and hugged her tightly, pulling her close. She sobbed into his bare chest, fisting her hands as the tears came freely. "I don't care if you're a threeblood Inu-Yasha." She sniffled. "I don't care."

"I… I know." Inu-Yasha nodded dumbly, unsure of what else to say. "Kagome, I'm sorry."

She dried her tears, pulling away. "For what?" She asked in confusion. Her guardian smiled, almost giving himself a heart attack as he reached up a wiped a tear away. What the hell was he doing?

"For being an insensitive jerk." He smirked. Then he really did give himself a heart attack. Slowly he leaned forward, sliding his hand to the back of her neck as he pulled her forward slightly to press his lips against hers. He had never felt more scared in his life but something told him that doing this was the most right decision in his life.

"Oh shit, the boss is gonna kill me."

End chapter 26

Well everyone? Did you enjoy? Did you appreciate? You'd better have. And you'd better review too! I want reviews! I want happiness for my efforts! I tried and it's all Fanfictions fault! Blame it!

And my GREATEST apologies for screwing up Bankotsu's name, to everyone who pointed that out. You're so right, I misread it somewhere when I was looking at all of them and then I typed in the misread and then I just used my mistyped misread after that. I'm sorry, sorry, sorry! So I've fixed it up and re-posted so now Bankotsu's name should be Bankotsu. Again, I'm sorry!

Shoutouts:

**link no miko:** Yes, playing FFVII on the DDR pad has truly changed my life. I now play everything on the DDR pad. I'm a maniac! Actually, all I've been playing it DDR, except int eh late hours of the night when my parents don't want to hear me swear and curse anymore and then I just play FF9, which is cute but only because of Vivi. I love Vivi so much! He's so adorable! And kawaii! And I want my friend's Vivi plushie! And Suikoden? I think I have a game similar to that. I have no idea what it's called but it's a Japanese PS game where you own a restaurant and you cook things and it's all in Japanese and very confusing but my sister and I enjoy playing it very much. Is that what you're talking about or did I just confuse you?

 And you are remotely right that show assumption, so good for you! I'm not going to tell what on though. But very good! You're starting to understand my writing! Hurray! All those English/Writer's craft classes haven't been a complete waste of time! They're working for my story! People are recognizing it! I'm going to stop now!

Angel Sanctuary? You are my best internet friend ever. I'm in LOVE with Angel Sanctuary and X by CLAMP. I watch them constantly although AS is completely raw and I have no idea what's going on but I just love it because of the art. They are my life blood. Until I get more Di Gi Charat and Tenchi ni Narumon. But anyway. 

**Ronagu-chan:** You're forgiven from your lack of reviewingness. Everything gets more interesting as it goes along and if Ama's involved! Whee! I'm friends with the embodiments of 'crack-induced' and 'chaos'. Don't get me wrong on fun! And don't dis world history! For your information I quite enjoy it. Of course, that could be due to the fact that my teacher is insane and did the monkey dance for us today. Now that's amusement.

**Fate:** I'm sorry I couldn't be there to save you from the evil day of pink hearts! Could you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?

And now, the preview of chapter 27, I know I said there wasn't going to be one but there is, because I've stayed up to late working on this before I found out I didn't have to and only my coffee machine kept me from falling off the brink on insanity (Long live Zorbax, king of Cappuccino…)

Preview chapter 27: Brother:

_                "Just like old times, right Kirrara?" Sango asked, looking at all the buildings. Kirrara mewed and nodded, trotting beside her task, in her smaller form. Sango nodded. "Yeah, nothing's changed. It looks like even old Kiganawa-san is still going strong. Never actually believed her when she said she'd outlive me." The girl shook her head, sighing. "Let's just hurry this up Kirrara. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to."_

_                Kirrara nodded and started trotting faster to keep up with the girl when she glanced back. She slowed for a second, then sped up to keep in pace with Sango. Lost in her own thoughts, Sango didn't notice Kirrara's strange pause but she was aware enough to notice the footsteps behind her and lack of shadow in front of her. Someone otherworldly was following her and wasn't trying to hide it either. _

_                "Kirrara, don't react but on the count of three we'll attack the guy behind us." She whispered. Kirrara looked surprise but then smiled and nodded. Sango fisted her hands and counted. "One, two, three!"_

_                She turned around and kicked out but noticed Kirrara hadn't transformed or even done anything. That would only mean that Kirrara knew something Sango didn't and whoever was behind was a friend and not a foe. Sango's face changed immediately as she felt her foot make contact with the stranger's skull and she pulled back immediately. "Oh gomen, I thought you were someone else!"_

_                Miroku massaged the bump on his head. "I would hope Sango or else you have some sadistic need to continuously injure my skull." Sango frowned, now realizing who it is. "Houshi-sama, you're the one that always provokes me." She moved away from him to prevent it again, seeing his hand rise. Miroku smiled and shrugged, standing up. "Then I guess that would make me a hopeless masochist." _

_                "Why are you here?" Sango asked, crossing her arms. _

_                "My dear Sango, I came to see your home with you." Miroku protested his innocence. Sango rolled her eyes._

_                Kirrara, sniffed the air, keeping a mindful eye on the bantering young adults. She turned her eyes into the wind, sensing something old, new and troublesome. She growled. Not again._

End preview of Chapter 27.

There you go! I hope you enjoyed it! I'm now off to play Final Fantasy 9 (Finished VII over the weekend. I love cappuccino and… and… and I can't whine unless I ruin it for some people! Wah!) Enjoy the preview until next mon!

Toodles!

~Ama

Word to the warning: Sleep? That's when the ninjas get you.


	27. Chapter 27: Brother

Disclaimer: If I owned it I'd already have the hottub.

Man! What a busy week for me indeed! I got DDR (finally) I wrote three tests, suffered through a terrible storm and now I'm moving! I can't believing it! I'm moving to a bigger house, in the middle of nowhere, but it has a pool, high-speed internet and a _hottub!_ Anyone who wants to live with me, you're welcome. You and half my school.

Well, despite the busy week I managed to get Chapter 27 out, although there's probably a lot of typos in it. Sorry! I did my best and worked my hardest! I hope you enjoy it anyway! And please point out any typos to me.

Shout outs (sorry I can't get you all but some of them I just can't respond to and I've been busy. Full blow-out shoutouts next week! Promise!):

**ditto: **I watch Chobits. I own Chobits. I LOVE CHOBITS! It's my favourite CLAMP series of all time! It's so wonderful! I want a male Persocom, particularly one that looks like Sesshoumaru! Yeah, and D was my first vampire I ever saw. We love him so. And I watched the X movie first. All that cramped into 45 min. BAD idea (and too bad there aren't any pics of Sesshoumaru in a business suit, ne?)

**Corkycomp:** Yay for reading and reading and reading until you get there! That just rules! I'm glad you love my sotry so much! Whee! And I always update every Monday night at 9, although it may differ since my computer sucks and I have dial up and everything's wacky. But it'll be better soon! (I hope)****

**Link no miko:** Curtain rod wars! Very good for fun, very bad for health and walls. And what's wrong with Netsuna? To tell you the truth, she's based after my best friend. Oh well, I guess that means my plan's working. And I stole that quote from Lion King, except I modified it a bit. You noticed that or did you just like it? And Vivi's so cute, while I named Zidane Zorro 'cause I thought it suited him better. And don't get mad at me, my sister named Quina Quin Qui-gon! How terrible is that (although I'm not sure who it's insulting)  and Zelda's a great game! Long live the chickens! And the Link song by Rabbit Joint! Whee! Not to mention the chocobo remix. And AS manga! *races off*

And now, on with the show!

**Chapter 27:**

** Brother**

"I don't _care_ if you meant for it to happen or not. All that matters now is it did."

"I said I was sorry!"

"That's not the issue now. We're going to have to find some way to work around it."

"I guess I did my job a bit too well, eh?"

"Listen, we're not here to discuss your ups and downs in this. We knew that this was inevitable, we just didn't expect it so soon."

"Yeah, sorry. But what about before and all that…?"

"History's a dependable, not a definite. There have always been some changes. You just have to learn to accept them and work around them. Flexibility is part of our job."

"You're right. Besides, I've already come up with a backup plan."

"So have I and we'll be using mine this time."

"Psh. Fine." 

Sango smiled warmly as she waved to Kagome, the girl and her guardian angel landing on the apartment building rooftop. Inu-Yasha dropped Kagome off and glanced around warily before turning to his companions. 

"Well?" He said gruffly, crossing his arms. "What the hell are we doing? We only have one day left, plus today, until the invasion and we're screwed to hell. It doesn't help that I have some very bad news."

Both Sango and Miroku looked worriedly at each other. In Netsuna's tale last night she mentioned a quick and easy fight that Inu-Yasha had won speedily, nothing of trouble. Now they could see that by Inu-Yasha and Kagome's faces that something was very wrong indeed.

Inu-Yasha frowned, not liking the looks that Sango and Miroku were giving each other. When they looked at him, with expectations for him to continue, he nodded and began speaking again. "In my dad's time there was once a group of ruthless and powerful humans called the Seven or the Shichinin-tai. They had all the powers of demons without a single drop of demon blood in them and killed everything in their path. They were eventually caught and killed by humans, but twenty-five years after that Naraku brought them back to life. My dad did pretty short work on them, with some help, but they still put up a hell of a fight and the leader almost did him in."

"And now Naraku's brought them back for a third time to defeat you." Miroku finished and the angel nodded.

"The Shichinin-tai are alive again?" Shippo squealed from his perch in Kagome's arms, where he had flung himself when the girl first set foot on the rooftop. "I remember them from my pa's stories!" He opened his mouth to blurt something when he paused and looked thoughtful. "Didn't one of them like your dad?"

"One of the Shichinin-tai was a girl?" Sango asked as Inu-Yasha's ears turned red. When the dog-eared angel shook his head Sango caught on and blinked in surprise, while Miroku coughed politely to hide his laughter. Kagome just smiled, trying to imagine one of Inu-Yasha's opponents hitting on him. She could only picture the temperamental angel's reaction; it would most likely involve a lot of cursing.

"Well, what are we going to do?" Inu-Yasha grunted, trying to change the subject. Everyone nicely complied as Miroku shrugged. 

"We received word last night from Kaede-sama." He said, glancing over at Sango who nodded in agreement. "She told us that the best thing we could do right now would be to stay quiet and just survey the area for any rogue demons."

Inu-Yasha gave another grunt, shrugging carelessly. "Fine. Kagome, do you sense anything?" He said over to his task. 

Kagome gave a little jump, startled by the sudden question. Ever since the previous night in the hotel Inu-Yasha had been edgy and irritable; she didn't know whether it was because of what happened or the fights he had bring through. She wondered if this was just his way of showing affection, by being perfectly miserable the next morning, or if he was angry at himself for actually letting some emotion show through. Either way it was one hell of a kiss for her first… Not a time to think about it, she reprimanded herself and closed her eyes to concentrate. 

"I sense a few things," She said after a moment of silent thought. "Over in the north area. It's hard to tell though because of all the people and their guardians, but I think there's some small things in that direction." She pointed in the direction she indicated. Everyone followed her gaze and Kirrara suddenly let out a mew and Sango smiled. 

"That's my old neighbourhood, just north of here." She explained to the rest of them. "I'm actually happy that we can go there. It'd be nice to see my family again." She smiled sadly as she looked back over there and Kirrara glanced up at her then at the suburbs. Kagome felt worried as she watched the two of them. Kirrara didn't look nostalgic like Sango did. She looked concerned. 

"So then let's go!" Kagome said, clapping her hands and nearly dropping Shippo, who clamoured up to her shoulders. Everyone looked at her and she smiled, trying to break the gloomy mood she could see forming. "It's Sango-chan's old neighbourhood and we have some demons to get rid of anyway! Why don't we go?"

"I agree, Kagome-sama." Miroku nodded. "Besides, I would like to see Sango-chan's old neighbourhood as well."

"Don't even think about it."

"I wasn't going to do anything."

Kagome smiled  as Sango gave a warning glare to Miroku and the monk held up his hands in feigned innocence. Inu-Yasha snorted. "Are we going or not?" He said irritably. 

"Inu-Yasha, what got mixed in with your breakfast this morning?" Miroku asked with a knowing smile. "Or did you not get enough sleep last night?"

Both Inu-Yasha and Kagome blushed pink and Shippo cocked his head at their reactions. "Kagome?" He asked, tapping the girl's head. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing Shippo-chan." Kagome said, picking the fox-child off of her shoulder and smiling warmly. "So, let's go now, ne?" 

"Sure thing, Kagome-chan." Sango nodded and Kirrara, almost reluctantly, transformed  into her larger size. Sango and Miroku got onto Kirrara's back while Kagome once again was picked up by her guardian, Shippo sitting on her shoulder. As they took into the air, Kagome tapped Inu-Yasha's shoulder.

"What?" He said briskly. Ignoring his bad temper Kagome leaned closer to whisper. "Have you noticed anything wrong with Kirrara-chan? She doesn't seem to be in a good mood today."

"Keh." Inu-Yasha glanced over at Kirrara, who had a poker face on as they headed north. He shrugged as he answered his task. "You remember how Sango died, eh? Kirrara probably just feels bad about returning there. I mean, you remember how broken up you were when you visited your family."

"That is true…"  Kagome said. "Maybe we shouldn't go."

"Damn, be decisive once in a while." Inu-Yasha smiled as he growled that. "You've already made the decision to go there and we're going there. Besides this might do them both good to get back. It's been nearly half a year for them and unless we're lucky it might be the last chance Sango has to see her family." 

"Don't say that!" Kagome whispered. "We're going to make it through this just fine."

Inu-Yasha said nothing, but flew on.

Bankotsu meticulously ran the cloth over his blade, smoothening and polishing it until it reflected the light from every angle and was sharp enough to cut through the air itself. No scratches, dents, cuts or any other blemishes were visible on the blade, making it the perfect war weapon and a beautiful but deadly thing to look at. He would work on the handle and hilt as well, shining them to perfection, but it was the large blade that took his time, that he spent the utmost care on. 

The other Shichinin-tai were also perfecting their weapons, having nothing else to occupy their time as they waited for Jakotsu and Kyoukotsu's return from the mortal plane. Naraku was not a hospitable employer and had offered them the sole room for their purposes. They were allowed nowhere else in the castle and had only themselves for companionship. Bankotsu didn't mind, however. He and his group were used to the solitude, although not he captivity.

Suddenly the door opened the slim and strangely tailored form of Jakotsu walked through. The door closed silently behind him as the black-haired man sat down onto the cold floor, matching the looks his companions were giving him. 

Bankotsu spoke first. "So Kyoukotsu…"

"Is dead." Jakotsu stated flatly, pulling out his peculiar weapon and beginning to clean the blood off of it. "And so would Inu-Yasha had I not been called back." He added with a sneer. "Ani-kiii!" He pouted in a piteous whine. "Why wouldn't you let me kill him?"

Bankotsu showed some surprise, glancing around at the other members. "I sent no order. It's Naraku who does the ordering on this part."

Jakotsu's features darkened. "But that…"

"A small error on my part." The hissing voice of the shadow Kuro-michi shocked even the most composed of the Seven as the shadow suddenly seemed to appear. "It was Naraku's order for you to return but I merely used Bankotsu-dono's name to get a faster reaction."

He's good, Kagura thought from her perch outside the door, listening in on the conversation for lack of better entertainment. After seeing Jakotsu's strange new taste in modern fashion, the long-lived demon was curious to see what other changes may of befallen the Shichinin-tai when they had been learned in the new ways of modern society. Except for Bankotsu's surprisingly more placid attitude and Jakotsu's new fashion, everything seemed as normal as before. It came close to being disappointing. 

Inside the room Jakotsu snorted. "Hell with that, I could have killed Inu-Yasha-kun if Naraku hadn't interfered." The shadow made no reply.

Another derisive comment came from the room, a rough voice that Kagura identified with the brashest of the group, the grey-haired Renkotsu who, despite his arrogance, was a powerful fighter. "Naraku's just a pussy, that's all. Can't even let one of us destroy the threeblood. And why? Because he's fucking afraid of us, that's why! Unless he makes sure that Inu-Yasha knows we're coming so he can wipe out half of us first, Naraku's going to have to deal with the whole gang of us, wouldn't he? Then he'd be in shit."

Kagura almost smiled along with Kuro-michi, as she knew the shadow must be doing, in it's silent, secretive way hidden beneath it's shadows and black robes. "Naraku has grander plans, Renkotsu."

"Oh yeah?"

"Of course." The shadow demon said smoothly. "The soul contained by the Reborn girl is very strong and Naraku-sama wishes to use it for his plans. But first he must corrupted the girl, twist her until she is perfect for his moulding. He can no longer work with the Guardian Kikyou, as she is too random and has disappeared to the mortal plane. So instead he has settled with the girl, to use her instead for his purposes. When he is finished, you may destroy Inu-Yasha."

"Dibs." Jakotsu claimed immediately and Bankotsu made a noise similar to a chuckle while some of the other members grunted in annoyed tolerance of Jakotsu's familiar behaviour. "So when is this going to happen?" Jakotsu asked, ignoring his comrades. 

"Soon." Kuro-michi said silkily. "Naraku works slowly but perfectly. Use the time you have to strengthen yourselves and your weapons. Learn the new ways of the modern civilizations. You will know why soon enough."

"Heh." Bankotsu said with half-sarcasm. "Just wait for master Naraku to tell us what he wants us to do and then we do it like obedient little dogs, right?"

Kuro-michi nodded, answering just as sarcastically. "And like obedient little dogs you will get your reward should you do your job correctly."

Bankotsu gave his small, calculating smile. "Alright, tell Naraku that we'll go along with this for now, if that's what he want to hear. But also tell him that we will not wait long. I thirst for battle and my Banryuu thirsts for blood. The same with us all."

Kuro-michi gave a short bow. "Of course, Bankotsu-dono." With those words it disappeared and reappeared outside the door, startling Kagura. "Naraku wants to see you." It said before disappearing again. Kagura regained her composure and frowned. Now what did Naraku want? She figured that Kuro-michi had purposefully had the conversation with the Shichinin-tai to clue her in. Getting the nearest demon she could find she placed it on watch order of the door as she left through the hallways to Naraku's domain.

She reached the door to Naraku's hall quicker than she would have liked and reluctantly tapped lightly on the wood. When she heard no reply she rapped the doorframe again, sharper this time.

"You may come in at any time, Kagura." Naraku's low voice came from the other side of the wall. Kagura opened the door and stepped in, not surprised at all when she saw what Naraku's plan was.

Naraku followed her gaze and nodded, giving that cold, disturbing smile. "Yes, one could guess that I, Naraku, am very set in the old ways. However if the girl is to be properly… cared for by then I do not wish to waste times being unpredictable. I may even frighten them off if they are superstitious enough." Kagura didn't like the look in his eyes as her master mused half to her and half to himself. "Relive the times in the past, only more disastrous." 

Kagura felt she'd be asking for it if she reminded her master that last time he had lost.

Naraku looked back up sharply at her, as if he heard her thoughts. "Kagura, take the boy and leave. This Naraku wants no time wasted on anything idle. I only have one more day to prepare and the trespasser has brought me plentiful information from the other side. Now hurry."

Kagura bowed, not wishing to argue this time. If Naraku was right and everything did go according to history then soon she would be free.

"Oh Sango-chan, this place is beautiful!" Kagome gushed as she looked around the quiet suburbia. "And the trees! Why couldn't we have come here during the sakura season? You have so many blossom tress in this area!"

Sango smiled as she looked around at the small, white houses decorated by flowers and old and young trees with light leaves, looking like something out of a tourist book. "Yeah, I guess I forgot about it. My family and I used to move a lot, so it's hard to remember what each town and home looked like, especially after you die. Besides, it's not as beautiful as your shrine, Kagome-chan."

"All I have is a few old buildings and a tree that managed to be older then my crazy old gramps." Kagome scoffed. "But your place is great! What house did you live in?"

Sango frowned and shook her head, looking at all of the identical houses. "I… don't remember. I think it was number 56 but I…" She shook her head. 

"Oh, that's so sad." Kagome said, suddenly feeling bad for bringing it up. "Sango-chan I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Sango smiled, waving her hand. "Kirrara and I will go look around. You guys don't mind, do you?" Kagome shook her head and after a meaningful glare to Inu-Yasha he did as well. Sango smiled and nodded. "Then Kirrara and I will be back soon. Ja." With that she walked down the street, weaving around and disappearing from view.

"So, where are these demons you sensed Kagome?" Inu-Yasha asked. Kagome looked around. "It's gone now. I didn't think about it but now that you mention it…" She blinked in confusion, wondering where the faint but unmistakable aura had disappeared to. Was she just going crazy?

"Well then, if there's nothing to take care of  then I'll be off, if you don't mind." Miroku said and Kagome jumped. She had almost forgotten he was there, he had been so silent this morning. "Shippo, you don't mind staying here, so you?"

"If you're going girl chasing, have fun." Shippo said, sitting firmly on Kagome's shoulders. Miroku looked amused before bowing and turning to leave. "Well then, I'll be off." He said, soon vanishing through a house's yard.

"Shippo-chan, why didn't you go with Miroku?" Kagome asked. The tiny angel smiled warily and tapped his nose. 

"I may be young but I'm not stupid." He said. "Miroku's been chasing a lot less number of girls since we met Sango and he's been paying a lot more attention to her. Plus I'm a kitsune; we know these things."

"Know what things?" Inu-Yasha asked. Kagome giggled. 

"Inu-Yasha, you're so clueless. Miroku likes Sango-chan is what Shippo was saying." Inu-Yasha looked bewildered as Shippo nodded. "And Sango-chan likes Miroku back." Kagome added. 

Inu-Yasha looked more confused. "You mean she actually likes that bouzo?" He asked, blinking as Shippo and Kagome nodded. "But she never seems to like it when he gropes her."

"Just like old times, right Kirrara?" Sango asked, looking at all the buildings. Kirrara mewed and nodded, trotting beside her task, in her smaller form. Sango nodded. "Yeah, nothing's changed." She stopped outside an old house with a tattered wooden sign outside of it. she smiled sadly. "It looks like even old Kiganawa-san is still going strong. Never actually believed her when she said she'd outlive me." The girl shook her head, sighing. "Let's just hurry this up Kirrara. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to."

Kirrara nodded and started trotting faster to keep up with the girl when she glanced back. She slowed for a second, then sped up to keep in pace with Sango. Lost in her own thoughts, Sango didn't notice Kirrara's strange pause but she was aware enough to notice the footsteps behind her and lack of shadow in front of her. Someone otherworldly was following her and wasn't trying to hide it either. 

"Kirrara, don't react but on the count of three we'll attack the guy behind us." She whispered. Kirrara looked surprise but then smiled and nodded. Sango fisted her hands and counted. "One, two, three!"

She turned around and kicked out but noticed Kirrara hadn't transformed or even done anything. That would only mean that Kirrara knew something Sango didn't and whoever was behind was a friend and not a foe. Sango's face changed immediately as she felt her foot make contact with the stranger's skull and she pulled back immediately. "Oh gomen, I thought you were someone else!"

Miroku massaged the bump on his head. "I would hope Sango or else you have some sadistic need to continuously injure my skull." Sango frowned, now realizing who it was as she put her weapon away. "Houshi-sama, you're the one that always provokes me." She moved away from him to prevent it again, seeing his hand rise.

 Miroku smiled and shrugged, standing up. "Then I guess that would make me a hopeless masochist." 

"Why are you here?" Sango asked, crossing her arms. 

"My dear Sango, I came to see your home with you." Miroku protested his innocence. Sango rolled her eyes. 

Kirrara, sniffed the air, keeping a mindful eye on the bantering young adults. She turned her eyes into the wind, sensing something old, new and troublesome. She growled. Not again.

"Houshi-sama, I'm not looking for my home." Sango said, not noticing her guardian angel's behaviour and turning around to continue walking down the street. 

"Then what are you looking for?" Miroku asked, keep paced with the younger girl. Sango didn't answer for several minutes and Miroku gave her the silence as they walked down the street. Kirrara kept glancing around nervously, her double tail twitching warily. The air wasn't right at all.

"Here." Sango stopped suddenly, looking to her left. Miroku followed her gaze and a look of surprise came to his face. "The graveyard?" He asked curiously, watching Sango as she walked up the steps to the cemetery. Bewildered and curious, the monk followed her up, pausing to watch her stop and kneel in front of a pair of graves. 

"Taichisa Kohaku." He read on the gravestone Sango was kneeling near. Miroku glanced over at the one closest to it. "And Taichisa Sango. This one is yours but the other?" It was a rhetorical question, one he didn't really except an answer for.  

"My brother." Sango said quietly. "He was possessed and killed by Naraku. Naraku, who used him to attack my family… to hurt them and my neighborhood, just to kill me." She put a hand up the lightly brushed the stone of the grave. "He hurt all those people just to kill me. My brother's soul… gone forever. Because that bastard took it. I'm never going to forgive Naraku. Never." Her voice broke at the last word and she looked away, ashamed of her tears. She had vowed to never cry again, since that day. And she never would, until she had made the one who did this pay dearly. 

"Sango, I'm sorry…" Miroku said softly, reaching to put an arm around her, to comfort her. Suddenly they were interrupted by Kirrara's hissing and growling, as they looked over at the frightened and bothered angel. 

"What is it Kirrara?" Sango asked jumping up. Kirrara answered with a feline bark, transforming as soon as Sango gave her the power to. Pulling out her own weapon, Sango looked around fearfully as Miroku got ready. Were the demons that Kagome sensed here? Why now?

"Gah!" Miroku cried out suddenly, as a whipping noise wrenched through the air. Sango looked over, seeing the blood seeping into his clothes from the wound in his shoulder. Wincing, Miroku leaned on his staff to stay upright, trying to find his attack.

The whipping noise came again and again, an invisible blade missing, nicking or wounding them badly. Whoever this was, they were playing with them, toying with their lives. Sango held on to her Hiraikitsou, trying to find their assaulter. Kirrara protected them as much as possible wit her fiery barriers and thick fur, but something was making her reluctant, something made her not want to attack their attacker. 

"Sango, look out!" Miroku cried suddenly, knocking the girl to the ground. She heard a ripping noise as the blade ripped through the back of Miroku's clothing, spraying blood. With a weak smile at her Miroku pushed himself up again, trying to find their assailant. Sango lay there, bewildered, confused. What was going on?

She suddenly saw the sickle-like blade whipping through the air like a wild animal, tamed only by the chain attached to it's wider, duller end. Kirrara leaped forward and grabbed the chain in her fangs, pulling it forward. Miroku took the opportunity to run forward to meet whoever was on the other end that Kirrara was bringing closer. 

What happened next was like slow motion to Sango. She saw Kirrara pulling the chain taunt and dragging whoever was on the other end closer. She saw Miroku run up, bleeding and cut, to their attacker. She saw Miroku grab the young boy by his collar and start shaking him, then bringing up his staff to finish him off. She saw the boy retrieve his weapon from under Kirrara and prepare to strike Miroku. 

"Houshi-sama, stop it! Don't hurt him!" Sango cried out suddenly. This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't.

"Sango?" Miroku paused his blow, looking up. Then his eyes widened with shock before blanking as the boy's weapon dug into his chest and pulled out, trailing blood. Through her tears Sango saw Miroku slump to the ground and the boy turn to them, his eyes lifeless as he prepared to kill the girl and her angel in front of him. Sango was trembling. Her worst nightmare had come true. What was to remain buried had come back to life. She was to be killed by her own brother. 

"Kohaku." She acknowledged him and stood up, preparing to meet her brother in battle.

End Chapter 27

Okay, I know, the end was _horribly_ cliché. I'm sorry I wrote it fast so that you could read it. You want a non-cliché story, stick to the once-a-month ones, okay? I'm not a firkin genius here I'm just a teenage girl with a computer, imagination and a hottub. I can't wait until I can use it. 

And last of all, but not least of many, here's the preview for the next chapter! It's short! Sorry!

Preview Chapter 28:

                _"Is this true?" Sesshoumaru glared at his first officer. The kappa Mizuki didn't look fazed at all but instead excited. He tapped his pronged staff on the ground twice before answering, unable to hide the excitement in his eyes or voice._

_                "Yessir Sesshoumaru-sama! Reports from all over the ninth realm of the mortal keys have indicated that Naraku is attacking ahead of schedule. Because of this action all laws indicate that we are allowed to begin war unconditionally!"_

_                Sesshoumaru frowned. "I wasn't ready for this, not yet. Mizuki, go and gather troops Aplha and prepare them for full out defensive maneuvers in Tokyo. And fetch the trespasser to get my nephew. I'm going to need him in Hell after all."_

End preview

Okay, okay, it didn't tell you anything! I'm sorry! Well, see you next Monday!

~Ama


	28. Chapter 28: Suffer

Disclaimer: Whee!

Hey everyone! It's me, your favourite Ama, here again with your favourite story (by Ama)! The chapter is new, the plotline's improved and I'm giddy from lack of sleep! Wahoo!

So what will happen today? What of the fight between Sango and Kohaku? Will nothing good ever come to our heros? And what of Naraku, and his early invasion of Tokyo? Is everything just meant to screw up?

If I told you, that's ruin the story, wouldn't it?

Shout outs:

**SaiyanPrincess, jenna: **. Thanks for your reviews and notes guys. Even the little things count to a girl like me. And how have I made Kagome sit Inu-Yasha too much? Granted I admit it was over-excessive in the beginning but she barely does it now. The last time she's done it in about five chapters is Chap 26 and that was in self defence! And jenna, I update every Monday.

**Asha: **.Everything gets more interesting. But only MY story can get intermesting. And what's KH 'Final Mix'? Cloud and Sephiroth? In Japanese? Oh, the wondrous possibilities… must search eBay…

**Okonomiyaki-chan: **.Hate me for my hottub. Feel the hate. You have the entire series of Chobits? Curse you to the farthest reaches from your Jakotsu! Me 'n my pals are going to Anime North this may and we're cosplaying in a stupid skit of a fight between Chocolate from _Sorcerer Hunters_ and Chi. I wrote it, so it's bound to be amusing. And my role? I get to stick a giant paper-mache cat head on my shoulders and be Kuroneko-sama from _Trigun_. Nyau-u.

**Ronagu-chan: **.CLAMP is the greatest when it comes to funkalicious funky manga. They have funny stories, their art is beautiful and they have pretty bishes (ah, Uhey and Fuma, I worship the ground on which you walk). And Chobits is one of their best. After seeing the 'Chi Learns' episode I was running around calling everything 'Hideki'. It drove my friends insane, especially the ones who had no clue what I was talking about. It drove them even nuttier when my response to everything was "Chi?" And Angelic Layer isn't CLAMP does Pokemon, it's CLAMP does Medabots. And Sakura's what got me into the biz, dimmit! I must go collect all the CLAMP of the world! Bwahahaha! (and whosa in the whatsit? I'm no good at history. It's not American, is it? I know Abe Lincoln from US history and that's only because of Clone High)

 On with the fic!

**Chapter 28:**

** Suffer**

What had happened to Sango? Kagome looked worriedly at her friend as the older girl sat on the balcony of the hotel, staring blankly into nothing. Ever since she had returned from what had seemed to be a terrible fight, she hadn't said a word. Kirrara was badly wounded and Miroku was unconscious; Sango had looked close to her second death carrying them both back to Kagome and Inu-Yasha, bleeding from her own wounds no less. After being treated she had gone outside and had spoken to no one, not even to ask of Kirrara's condition. Something serious must have happened.

"She's still out there?" Inu-Yasha asked, coming into the room with a bag of food and medicinal herbs he and Shippo had acquired. Kagome nodded, the worry apparent on her face.

"Inu-Yasha, Sango hasn't said anything or moved in the past hour or so. What could have happened?" Kagome looked at him and Shippo in concern. Both angels looked at each other, wondering if they should tell. Both remembered from their father's stories of the past; they had also learned to never affect the future. 

"I'm sure once Kirrara and Miroku wake up she'll be fine." Shippo tried to assure Kagome but one look at the girl said that it wasn't going to work. He sighed and fiddled with his tail. "Kagome, I don't know."

Kagome immediately turned her gaze to Inu-Yasha, who looked surprised at first but then annoyed. "What?" He muttered, deciding to hide his guilt in a double cheeseburger. 

Kagome frowned pertly at Inu-Yasha's obvious avoiding of the question through food. "Inu-Yasha, you must know what's wrong with Sango. Does it have anything to do with four-hundred years ago?"

Inu-Yasha swallowed his food. "No." He said quickly before taking another bite. Kagome didn't look convinced.

He's a horrible liar, Shippo thought as he watched Inu-Yasha try to deter the conversation somewhere else. The tiny angel kit glanced over at the beds that held the wounded and unconscious Miroku and Kirrara. The wounds were obvious indication if you knew enough; Sango's silence only hinted more. Sighing, Shippo glanced over to where Sango sat silently. This was going to be a hard war. 

But then again, there were never any easy ones, were there?

Sango sat on the balcony, knees up to her chest as she curled into a knot, leaning against the rough brick wall of the hotel building. She stared out at the blue sky and gray buildings of Tokyo city, not seeing anything in her line of sight. Her mind wandered elsewhere, to the happenings of a few hours ago. It was all so perfect it was almost like it had been filmed. Perfect enough to make her wonder if it had been planned. 

The appearing and disappearing demonic senses in her hometown so that they would go there and she would have nearly been obligated to go and visit her and her brother's graves. Of course the monk would follow them. Of course they would get attacked. Of course the attacker would be her dead brother.

How did he do it? How did Naraku find Kohaku's body, when it had been burned to ashes the first time he had died. Why was he doing this, to torture her until she died? Did he enjoy doing this?

She stared blankly at a wound in her arm, the blood slowly seeping through the cloth in a thin, red line. She could not kill her brother. She would not kill her brother. There was no way she was going to succumb to Naraku's level. She'd die first before she'd let her brother do so. She was the older sister. She was supposed to protect him.

A damn good job she did with that. Now he was dead and gone for good, his body a puppet, a tool for Naraku and his sick schemes. She should have no qualms about killing an empty shell that mocked her brother. She shouldn't. But something about that imitation Kohaku, something in his eyes, something that nearly killed them all, had stopped her.

She remembered it so clearly.

Reliving it over and over again in her mind.

Why was she so foolish?

Was this the way it was meant to be, like in the past?

Was she destined to not only let her brother die, but her angel and her friend as well?

Was she just a means to kill others?

She remembered it so clearly…

_~Sango stood there, staring at the boy that looked so much like her brother. His short, cropped hair, loose-clothing and the sickle-shaped weapon attached to a long chain  he had always favoured in games as a child in his hand, blood from Miroku dripping slowly off of it. It was like a horrible nightmare come back to life, as Sango was forced to choose from what she knew were the inevitable choices: Her death or her brother's._

_"Kohaku, we don't have to do this." She said quietly, holding her boomerang loosely in one hand. "Kohaku, please."_

_Kohaku made no response. He didn't even seem to recognize his own sister as he raised the instrument that he would use to kill her. Sango took a step back, holding her Hiraikotsou protectively in front of her. "Kohaku…" She said brokenly. She knew he couldn't hear her, after all he was dead and could not recognize her. But it was still so hard for a sister to kill a brother she loved so much and Naraku was taking advantage of that._

_Kohaku whipped the sickle at her, slicing through her shoulder as he took advantage of her hesitation. Kirrara snarled fiercely as she ran up to grab the chain as she had before but Kohaku had learned. Quickly he pulled it in a different direction, causing it to instead imbedded itself in Kirrara's side. The feline angel hissed as the blade sunk deeply into her. _

_Quickly Sango composed herself and grabbed her boomerang, whipping it to that it caught the sickle's chain and pulled it out of the angel. Seeming to acknowledge his sister's presence again Kohaku turned to her, weapon in hand. _

_"I won't kill you." Sango said determinedly, forcing back the tears. Kohaku made no movement of recognition or that he even registered her voice or recognized what she said to him. He instead stood there, watching her with his dead, lifeless eyes, empty and emotionless as he threw his weapon at her. Sango avoided it and tried to get closer to her brother, to get the weapon out of his hands but whatever force was controlling him was sharper and faster. Sango received many wounds as she tried to avoid her brother's weapon, refusing to counterattack. Finally they both paused, eyeing each other in the break of the battle. Kohaku seemed almost perplexed that Sango was not fighting back. Sango desperately tried to think of a way to get through to him. _

_Unable to take it anymore she ran up to her younger brother; the sudden move seemed to catch him off guard as she grabbed him by the shoulders._

_"Kohaku, don't you recognize me? Kohaku it's me, your older sister Sango! Wake up, please! Break Naraku's spell! Kohaku!" She shook him vigorously, even though she knew it was futile. Tears running down her face she watched semi-helplessly as Kohaku composed himself raised his weapon to kill her. _

_Kirrara intervened, pushing through brother and sister as Kohaku swung downwards. Sango was knocked by her guardian and hit a wall pretty badly, knocking her head. She watched through a daze as Kohaku buried his weapon into Kirrara for a second time. Weakened by the pain and loss of blood, the feline angel fell unconscious and shrank to her smaller form. Without thinking Sango grabbed her weapon and threw it at her attacker, the force of doing so knocking her down to the ground._

_She watched dimly as the boomerang caught Kohaku off guard, hitting him square in the back of the neck. Kohaku made no sound as he toppled over, unconscious or dead from the blow. _

_Sango sat there limply for a moment or so, catching her breath as her weapon crashed uselessly to the ground. Then slowly she stood up, wiping the blood from the cut on her forehead. She walked past the unconscious form of Miroku. She walked pasted the limp form of her angel Kirrara. She walked past her Hiraikotsou. Instead she walked up to the body of her brother, staring non-coherently at it, unbelieving that it was who her eyes told her. She conjured a sword with the last of her energy and held it in the air, it's sharp tip aiming down._

_"I'm sorry." She whispered.~_

She had blacked out or had been attacked sometime after that, as she could remember nothing. She had woken up in the hotel room, as a relieved and worried-looking Kagome greeted her and told her what they had found. Shippo had been distraught over the state of Miroku and Inu-Yasha had been missing but was undoubtedly close by. As soon as she had regained her balance Sango had left to sit outside; she didn't want to see everyone like that. 

Kagome stepped through the door, rapping lightly on the wood to tell Sango she was coming. The older girl made no indication that she knew Kagome was there, so Kagome took the opportunity to sit down. "Want to talk about it now?" She asked. 

Sango said nothing as she started out into the sky. Her brother was back from the dead and from her own foolishness she had nearly killed herself and her friends, leaving them who knows how. Compulsively, most likely due to Kagome's gentle questioning, Sango broke down and began crying. She didn't shy away from Kagome as the girl pulled her into an understanding hug but she didn't respond either. What would be the point? Kagome didn't understand; none of them did nor would they ever. It was Sango's burden and she would always have to face it alone.

Sesshoumaru was not pleased. He had been close to pacing in his office as he looked stonily at his computer, his eyes hard and icy. Only the barest wiggling of the tips of his fingers gave any indication of his impatience. He read and reread the information on his screen, studying and calculating it over in his mind until he understood it thoroughly. 

A sharp rap on the door alerted him and the demon Lord turned sharply towards it, knowing exactly who was behind that door. "Enter." He said crisply and the door opened almost immediately. First officer and general of the Fourth Lord's armies stood there, his signature staff held in his nimble fingers. The kappa bowed low before entering. 

"Sesshoumaru-sama, I came as soon as I was requested. What bothers my Lord?" He asked formally. Though Mizuki fooled around often he knew better than to cross Sesshoumaru at a dire time like this. 

The Fourth Lord certainly did seem cross. "I've been receiving reports daily and I have just finished reading yours. Mizuki, are you been selective with your words to deceive this Sesshoumaru or is this news true?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama, I know better than to attempt to deceive you, especially with the Third Strike so near." Mizuki said with another short bow but this time his eyes glinted with anticipation and he was grinning with excitement. Sesshoumaru's land was the realm of power and it occupants enjoyed nothing more than war. "Reports from all over the ninth realm of mortal keys indicate that Naraku has begun the invasion ahead of schedule and thus broken the final statement. Because of this action all laws indicate that we may now begin war unconditionally. Sesshoumaru-sama, it has begun!"

Sesshoumaru didn't share Mizuki's happiness as he frowned. "I was not prepared for this so quickly; Naraku must be very wise indeed. Mizuki," His officer snapped into full attention. "Gather troops Alpha and distribute them throughout the mortal city of Tokyo on full defensive maneuversand alter Beta through Gamma to split into their two branches for assault on any movement in the mortal plane and this fourth realm. The rest must be prepared for anything and everything. I will further my orders once I have gathered enough information. Dismissed." 

Mizuki bowed. "Yessir." He nodded, turning around to leave when Sesshoumaru held up a hand. 

"Wait. I, Sesshoumaru, am the Fourth Lord, ruler of the realm of power and leader of the greatest armies in the three planes of existence. However there are some things even this Lord cannot do. Send messengers to my castle to bring Jaken and Rin here. And send the trespasser to fetch my nephew and make some use of herself. I'll need the threeblood in Hell after all." The Lord turned around, indicating that he was finished and Mizuki should leave. Now.

Mizuki took the hint and left, turning down the corridor to the tactics and officer's room, where he would distribute the news immediately and send the messenger Sesshoumaru had ordered. It wasn't long before a shadowy figure wrapped in a dark cloak appeared behind him. Mizuki smiled. 

"I expected you earlier. What's wrong, something didn't go as you planned? Someone make their own decision for once?" He asked, slowing his pace but not stopping. 

The trespasser didn't seem pleased. "I don't force anyone to do anything I just make circumstances so that they make the best choice." It said curtly.

"We're touchy than usual, aren't we?" Mizuki grinned, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. "So something did go wrong.

The shadow seemed ruffled but said nothing for a moment. "It's none of your business, kappa. Now, Sesshoumaru wanted me for something?"

Mizuki smiled knowingly. "Yeah, wanted ya to go get the threeblood and 'make the circumstances' so that he gets here ASAP."

"I should change the circumstances so that you fall into a pit of lava." The demon grumbled. 

"Same to you, love." Mizuki tapped his spear with a claw. "Say, completely out of context, why you always wearing those robes anyway? Makes you look like some kind of corrupt monk or sommit." 

The demon shrugged. "Trespassers have always worn the black robes as a symbol of who they were and what they could do. I'm not proud of my past but we've always sold our talents to the highest bidder, unless we had some other plans."

"Well what do ya look like underneath?" Mizuki said, taking one last drag at his cigarette and tossing it to the ground, eyeing the other demon curiously. "Frogs?"

The shadow's green eyes smiled. "Whatever we want."

Kohaku bowed, his sickle weapon strapped to his back as he stood on one knee, his head to the floor. Kagura watched the boy with indifferent boredom, wondering why she had bothered to save the boy's life but knowing that Naraku would not have been pleased and they would have lost a piece of the Shikon jewel if she hadn't. Kagura had yet to figure out the potential or even the purpose of the jewel that Naraku had been trying to obtain for over two hundred years and now that he had it was wasting it on simple mortals.

Naraku now was wearing his baboon pelt, sitting in front of them on a raised flooring that could serve easily enough as a simple throne. His head was uncovered at the moment but his face was still a perfect mask. He eyed Kohaku coldly and then shifted his gaze over to Kagura. 

"Tell me Kagura, why is the mortal still breathing?" He said simply. 

Kagura was shocked to say the least, completely not expecting the question that had just been asked. She racked her brains for an answer and gave it almost too quickly. 

"Because you wanted her to die by her brother's hands." She said in an almost snapping tone. Naraku showed no expression at her response but nodded. 

"Correct answer Kagura." He said coolly. "Already the invasion to the mortal plane has begun. I, Naraku, did not expect the boy to fail but luck seems to be on the mortal's side today." The outcast demon regarded Kohaku, who was still kneeling obediently, and then turned his gaze to the shadows. "The Fourth Lord knows of our attack and has sent his forces against us. I happen to know exactly which forces they are."

Kagura followed his gaze and met the red eyes of Kuro-michi. The trespasser demon smiled and bowed. 

"Five hours, m'Lord, and then threeblood and the Reborn will be here, in our domain of Hell. Sesshoumaru-sama has called for his nephew, perhaps for help. He obviously fears you, Master." There was the nose of cloth swishing as the trespasser bowed again.

Brownnosing little snot, Kagura thought miserably. Naraku, on the other hand, seemed pleased and nodded, turning back to Kohaku. 

"With this information I know now who to break the girl. I will wait for her here, in Hell when the Faults of the twelve Keys are at their peak in a mortal heart." He continued to watch Kohaku as he spoke. "Trespasser, go tell the Shichinin-tai that they may go to the mortal plane for exactly one hour and then they must return here. Kagura, I have more urgent business for you."

"Yes m'Lord." Kuro-michi bowed, blending in with the darkness, the faintest hint of a smile on it's hidden features. 

Miroku stared at the ceiling for a long time, counting the dots tiles until he had a basic idea of the number of dots on the entire ceiling, including the halved ones. He was on his to figuring out just how many dots there might be on the entire top floor but as he was trying to calculate it all in his head a noise distracted him. 

The ghostly monk sighed and sat up, propping himself on the palm of his hands to avoid the glancing pains in his shoulder, chest and back. Finally getting up he looked around and grabbed his staff; unlike everything else that belonged to a ghost, Miroku's staff was a part of him and would remain with him through everything and was not something he could replicate. 

Leaning on his staff as he shifted to make himself more comfortable, Miroku glanced around the room. It was dark and took a moment or two to adjust. Kirrara was cut up and wrapped tightly in bandages, resting on a small stack of pillows to make a bed for her. Shippo was asleep on the other bed, beside Kagome, his tail twitching a bit with every snore. Kagome was also fast asleep, but that concerned look on her face all the same. Miroku smiled somewhat as he glanced around again.

"Oi." Inu-Yasha's grunt turned the monk's attention to the angel. Inu-Yasha was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, one finger on the hilt of Tetsusaiga. One eye was open and one ear was trained forward on him, as the half-angel tried to look formidable enough to be a frightening bodyguard. Miroku politely held his laughter; now was not the time. 

"If you're looking for Sango, she's out there." The angel said quietly, jerking his head towards the balcony. Miroku followed the direction he indicated saw the young girl sitting outside, knees up to her chest and arms crossed around them as if she was trying to curl up into as small a person as possible. Miroku wasn't able to tell if Sango was sleeping or not from this distance. Only one way to find out; he began to stand up, leaning on his staff for support. 

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow, both eyes opened now. "I wouldn't if I were you." He said wisely. "You grope her and poor Shippo's gonna be one of the few to fail on their first task."

Miroku raised an eyebrow in response. It was perfectly impossible to see whatever Kagome sees in the selfish, arrogant and down-right clueless half-angel who had just spoken what he thought was sound advice. Instead of getting in a tirade, Miroku nodded and promptly ignored Inu-Yasha has he walked, painfully but determinedly, towards the balcony door. 

Inu-Yasha shrugged, closing his eyes again. The monk's funeral, not his. 

Miroku stepped through the glass down into the cool air outside. In late July the weather was slightly uncomfortable in the day but the nights, Miroku didn't know but suspected it was some time around four-'o'-clock am, the nights were beautifully warm. He sat down beside Sango and stared out at the sky, not looking at the girl until he was perfectly certain she was awake. 

"Sango, if there is anything I can do…" He began but drifted off. Just what could he say to her? He was an only child, knew nothing of what it felt like to lose a brother. His father had died, had been murdered under suspicious circumstances when Miroku was a child, but then Miroku had barely known his father, except that he was determined to follow in his footsteps. He shook his head, feeling completely at loss for words. "Sango, I-"

"Don't apologize." Sango muttered. "I don't want you apologizing for something beyond your power. It's not your fault Naraku resurrected Kohaku to attack us and it's not your fault you or Kirrara got so badly hurt."

Miroku frowned. "Are you saying it's yours?"

"Not just mine, but Naraku's as well." Sango didn't look at the monk but her eyes hardened. "Naraku's the one who started this all. And if it hadn't been for me distracting you, Houshi-sama, you would have never…"

"Sango, don't start blaming yourself. You did what any protective sister would have done." Miroku said quietly and smiled. "It's that kind of determined personality that makes you such an endearing woman."

Sango blushed. "Houshi-sama, I don't think…"

Miroku smiled more broadly and put his arm around the girl's shoulder, hugging her tightly. "Don't worry, Sango-chan. We'll get Naraku and fix all of these problems that he's started. Then we can finally settle down and start a family once he's gone."

Sango blinked. "Houshi-sama, I don-" She paused. "A what?"

Miroku feigned innocence. "Pardon Sango?" He asked, then decided that while he was on a role he might as well do the one thing he did best that he knew would cheer Sango up.

Inu-Yasha heard the slap well from inside the hotel room. The half-angel shook his head, sighing at the monk's tenacity. Shippo was going to be so disappointed when he woke up.

End chapter 27

More shout-outs!

**Ditto: **.Is that a challenge to draw Sesshoumaru in a business suit? Doubt it, since this blasted website will never go up. Grr, darn you geocities, why must you torment me so? When will I ever get the love I deserve? When? And nobody seems to like my cliffhanger, why? Because of the suspense? Because of the drama? Because I had to post this thing up so I cut halfway into the last section of the last page?

**Fate: **.Die of cliffhangers? Don't say such a thing! I refuse to let anyone die of anything but a large thumping object. Hammers are the way to go. (inside joke. I have a comic called 'Death by Hammer', which you'll see if I ever, again with the complaining, get my site up)

**link no miko: ** You knew what, you knew what? Larmie Project is done? Have you been into the 'sugar' again? Tsk, tsk. Yes, we love lil' Kohaku, don't we? He's just so cute and lovable. I want his toy. I love his toy. It's pretty and sharp… And Watase manga… classical. I read the first volume and a half of Ayashi no Ceres and I read/saw the first two volumes/ten eps of Fushigi Yugi. Other then that, that's all I've got of her. And I have no idea who Yuuhi-kun is, but I'll take the plushie anyway? ^_^ Oh, and guess what I found out that's game related? There's an IY game for the PSone and it's coming over here! Hurrah! It's a fighting-style/storyline game and what's really great is you can make the characters fight each other in the 'fight mode'. You can have Inu-Yasha fight Shippo… and LOSE! Horribly! While Shippo's in balloon form no less! Hah! What better when then to punish him? And you can play with Sesshoumaru too (grin)

That's everything all together in one neat little package! I hope you all liked it and I'll see you again next Monday! 

~Ama

Quote of the week: "Spoon. Brought to you by the makers of fork." My friend's little brother. Who never was in 'nam.  


	29. Chapter 29: Calm

SORRY! Gomen gomen gomen! My computer crashed, FFN crashed and I was stuck in the city overnight because of a snowstorm! I'm sooooooooo sorry this was late! I'll make it up to you! I promise! Just tell me how! *bambi eyes*

I won't bother you with repetitive babbling, so here are the shout outs and the story!

Disclaimer: SORRY!

And yes, to everyone who asked, that was modeled after Dead Piro Day. Piro-san is my idol….

Shout outs:

**SimplyTurquois, vegito044, Silver Magiccraft, Evil Bunny and Kirome:** Thanks a bunch you guys! I'm happy to see that new and new people keep reviewing my story every week. It makes me feel really happy and really popular ^_^. I hope you stay with me to the end. And Queen of Spoons? But _my_ friend is the Queen of Spoons. I guess they'll have to fight to the death now. And thank you Kirome. Since I want to be either a writer or comic creator, that's a very nice complement. And see, I wrote back. ~_^

**Ronagu-chan:** Eh, I like history but I suck at it. At least our teacher dances for our amusement *grin* The quotes of the week are the hardest to come up with out of the whole publishing of the story! Do you have any suggestions for what else I should put up? I might run out of them soon. And you have pictures to send? Do send! (ajtabbycat@hotmail.com)

**InuSaiyanPrincess**: Too damn long and too damn good? Well, at least I got the good part. And that's because it's not a story, it's a firkin' NOVEL! Between my readers and my muse I'm going to be hospitalized for gangrene in the fingers or something (unless I attack the compu for being stupid and have it blow up in my face instead) And the best story? Aw, go on (really, I love praise. Praise me!)

**ChocolateEclar**: Isn't Miroku so amusing? You just want to lock him up in a room with the Love Hina girls and a camera and have fun, wouldn't you? (me and my sister are twisted. Very twisted) Sorry I was late on the post. But look at it this way: Next Monday's closer so you won't have to wait as long! C'mon, be optimistic) And you really like this alternate universe as much as the real one? Considering that I integrated the real one into it, but I'll take it anyway!

STORY!

**Chapter 29: Calm**

A storm was coming. How fitting. 

You could feel it in the air, the tension building up as the heavy air preceding the thick clouds rolled through the city. It was the kind of tension that gave people headaches and made certain bones hurt and muscles throb. The animals curled up in corners, hid under holes, dogs barked nervously, cats avoided windows. The birds were all missing, gone to find shelter from the coming rain. The air was thick with tension from both the land and the living. 

The horizon was gone, vanished under the black cotton clouds as they moved steadily towards their destination, as if it had been predetermined. There were too many to count and they were all merging together, rolling like fat creatures lazily making their way across the darkening sky. Every once in a while a deep rumbling came from the distance, like one of the clouds roaring, heralding their existence and their power. 

The spirits in the city sensed it too. Wanderers paused in their mischief and slumber and guardian angels kept a closer watch on their tasks with an uneasy look to the sky. Rumours were spreading as quickly as the heavy air and were as prominent as the black clouds hanging darkly in the sky. It was unnerving, the calmness, as not a single leaf was blown by a natural wind. Everything seemed to be waiting in the silence, in the calm before the storm. 

Calm before the storm. How fitting, he thought again, leaning against the railing of the building's balcony. It was poetic in it's sense, that as everything living waits for the thunder and rain to pour down on them, so the spirits wait for the war to descend onto this plane. He smiled, red eyes glancing over at the thick, black horizon. 

He stood up and looked over to the north, looking farther then he could see. He paused, as if listening to some unheard voice, and nodded before disappearing into the thick air. Work was to be done, in this precious time. 

This… calm before the storm. 

The watcher was not the only one who noticed the air around the city. Kikyou felt it too, as she stood on the corner of one street, watching the traffic. Even at this time of day the cars ran busily through the streets, of to destinations only they knew off. Who are these people and where do they go, Kikyou thought curiously. In only a few days of living again in this world she had already come to understand. Mortals. They were like insects, only harder to get rid off. 

A small tugging began on the corner of her sleeve. She looked down to see a young child pulling at her sleeve, trying to get her attention. She crouched down to his level, gently plucking his hand off of her arm. 

"What is it little one?" She asked as the boy looked at her with innocent confusion and curiosity. Children were the only ones with the right eyes, with the right connection to spirits. He could sense what she was, and what she wasn't, but he didn't know how to make sense of it. She patted him on the head and looked for his guardian angel. She spied it, a small child-like angel with a headband sporting tiny wings, sitting on a lamppost. It was watching her uneasily, as unable to make sense of her as it's task was. 

"Are you lost miss angel?" The little boy asked suddenly. Kikyou looked at him with mild surprise. 

"Yes." She answered softly, nodding. The boy seemed satisfied and put a hand on hers. 

"Then you better start looking." He said as solemn as a young child could be. Then, seemingly finished what he had to do, he turned and waddled off to his mother who had just seemed to noticed he was missing. The boy's angel gave one last glance at Kikyou and then hopped down to the ground and followed after the boy and his mother, chatting amiably away with the mother's guardian, a seven tail weasel-like creature that sat on the unknowing woman's shoulder. 

"So you are not completely evil then." A voice said behind her. Frowning, Kikyou stood up and looked at the speaker, the demon dressed in old, classic style , holding two fans. Kikyou recognized her in an instant and cursed the fact that there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.

Kagura smiled, as if reading her thoughts. "Annoying, isn't it? I'm surprised you haven't killed the girl yet." She crossed her arms and looked at the undead angel with curiosity. "After all, there's nothing stopping you."

"I am an angel, not a demon." Kikyou hissed. "A Guardian. Guardians do not simply go about and destroy lives for their own means. Not only is it immoral and unjust, it is completely prohibited."

"But your not a Guardian anymore." Kagura pointed out. "You're barely even an angel. You'll be nothing unless that girl dies before you. Unless that happens you'll both die prematurely, at the same time. Naraku made sure of it."

Kagura watched Kikyou's face, hiding her amusement. Naraku was right all along about this. It's almost as if he had the ability to see and predict the future and now everything was running along smoothly. 

Kikyou frowned, seeing where this was going. "So Naraku's plan is that either I kill the girl, become a tainted angel and slowly poison Heaven from the inside or I don't kill the girl, we both die and he's free to do whatever he wishes because the only one able to oppose him is now gone forever."

The wind demon hid any shock she might had perfectly as she nodded. "That's precisely it. However, there is a third option that benefits us all."

"And what would that be?" Kikyou said, humouring her. 

"The threeblood." Kagura said simply, waiting for it to catch on.

The angel frowned, remembering and realizing what Kagura meant. "A reconstruction of two-hundred years ago."

Kagura nodded, smiling. "Except this time you survive with all your powers and the threeblood dies. Humour Naraku for a while and when the time is right, destroy him as well."

"Mutiny?" Kikyou raised an eyebrow. 

"I prefer to call it opportunistic."

Kikyou smiled slightly. "Except Inu-Yasha will be difficult to control. I've seen him with that girl." Her look darkened. "Even your corpse dance will have trouble controlling him."

Kagura's smile never flickered. "Kikyou-sama, I believe now is the time you learn of the entire version of that story…"

Kagome woke up suddenly, a heavy feeling startling her awake. She looked around to see Shippo sound asleep beside her and Inu-Yasha leaning against the wall, ears folded back as he looked out the window. Sango was asleep in the next bed and Miroku was sitting against the wall, also fast asleep. Kirrara was nowhere to be found. 

"Inu-Yasha?" Kagome said, alerting the half-angel to look at her. "What's going on?"

"Keh." Inu-Yasha grunted with annoyance, looking out again through the window. The sky was darkening with the prominent storm and the air smelt stiff and stale. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "The hell if I know. Look's like a big storm's coming." His ears stiffened suddenly and he looked at his task. "Hey, you sense anything?"

Kagome was startled for a moment from the question and then thought about it. "Um, not really."

"Damn." Inu-Yasha growled and swore under his breath, turning around to kick the wall beside Miroku's head. "Oi! Bouzo! Get up!"

"Sit!" Kagome immediately countered, gifting Miroku with a view of Inu-Yasha falling face first to the ground as the monk woke up. He blinked in confusion for a moment. "What did I miss?"

"Inu-Yasha woke up on the wrong side of the floor today." Kagome stated as her guardian pushed himself up. The noise had woken Shippo and Sango up and now the older girl was looking around, wide awake. 

"Kirrara? Where's Kirrara?" She asked, looking at Miroku and then Shippo and Inu-Yasha for answers. While Shippo looked around the room curiously Inu-Yasha nodded his head in the direction of the window as he stood up. 

"Went scouting. She should be coming back soon." Inu-Yasha said, shaking out his sleeves and shooting a glare at Kagome. Kagome glared back in response as Inu-Yasha continued. "Something ain' right outside so she went to check it out."

"What's going on?" Shippo asked, looking worried. "Inu-Yasha, you sense that too, don't you?" He glanced over at Kagome, his tail quivering. "Kagome?"

"What's wrong Shippo-chan?" Kagome asked in concern, picking the small angel up. Miroku and Sango also looked worried and Sango looked out the window, trying to catch a glimpse of her guardian. Inu-Yasha frowned but it was impossible to tell the reason. 

"Shippo-chan, what is it?" Kagome asked. Shippo chewed a nail and glanced quickly outside before shaking his head, as if he were unable to tell.

"It's too quiet." Inu-Yasha said and everyone looked at him. "It's not like Naraku to just send something to try and kill us and then ignore it when we beat him. He's up to something."

"Like what?" Sango asked and Miroku's look darkened. 

"Like starting the war early." He said. "That just sounds like the cowardly move Naraku would do."

"You mean he's already started the war?" Kagome said. "But that's not right; I don't' sense any demons."

"He doesn't just use demons." Inu-Yasha muttered, glancing outside. He stiffened and his ears flattened as he glared out the window. Shippo perked curiously and Kagome sensed it as well. 

"Inu-Yasha it's alright! Her name's N-"

"I know who she is." Inu-Yasha growled. "But that doesn't mean I have to like her."

"I see this morning's starting off well." Miroku sighed as Sango stood up and went over to the window to greet her guardian angel and Kirrara's guest. 

Netsuna was sitting calmly on the windowsill with Kirrara beside her until the angel got up to greet her confused task. Kirrara gave a few unintelligible mews but the look on Sango's face gave the impression the explanation didn't help much.

"It's you again!" Shippo jumped up and pointed an accusing finger at Netsuna. "You pushed Miroku out the window!" He glared at her, trying to look menacing and not succeeding. 

Netsuna grinned and glanced over at Miroku. "I see it didn't help much. Besides, he's fine now, isn't he?" Miroku and Shippo didn't seem amused. Not disheartened by their behaviour, or Sango and Inu-Yasha's cold glares, Netsuna turned to Kagome and nodded. "Hey Kagome, how are you? Did you take my advice?" 

Remembering the last time the cat demon had visited her, and what happened afterwards, Kagome blushed. Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Inu-Yasha (since he was asleep the entire time Netsuna was thereand has no idea what she's talking about) all looked confused and at Kagome for answers. Kagome decided the best way was to keep quiet and she just shook her head, as if she didn't know what the demon was talking about either. 

Inu-Yasha didn't like being left out of the loop and decided the change the subject. "What do you want?" He snapped at the demon. The cat didn't seem to be fazed and she just jangled her jewel-laden cat ears with amusement and a wry smile. 

"I want a pony, ten million of the highest currency on this planet and a really attractive servant." She said, then added gleefully, her green eyes twinkling as she clasped her hands together in mock joy and surprise. "Why? Are you Santa?"

Inu-Yasha didn't look happy.

Kirrara meowed and Netsuna glanced at her, seeming to remember why she was here in the first place. She nodded and turned the to the group. "Actually, why I'm here is because I've been told to go get you. You're supposed to…" She paused, trailing off, eyes blanking for a second. Before anyone could raise a question she shook her head and looked back at them. "Sorry, I, uh, couldn't remember the name. It's the centre of the city where you're wanted to be, by the time this storm starts. Then something will happen."

"And who is this message from?" Inu-Yasha asked. Netsuna shrugged in reply. "Dunno, they were all shadowy and stuff."

She glanced at the sky and flicked her tail worriedly. "I have things to do before the war starts guys. I don't know who wants you or why but it might be an ambush, so be on your guard. It's a pretty suspicious message if you ask me." She frowned. "I don't know where the centre of the city is, but that's a bad omen. Be careful." With that she pushed herself off the windowsill and disappeared. 

Everyone looked at her empty space and then at each other, all thinking of whether they should take her advice and directions or not. 

"I don't trust her." Shippo said flatly, sitting down with his arms crossed. 

"I don't think any of us do, gaki." Inu-Yasha snapped back. "But if it's from Naraku, we don't have much of a choice, do we?"

"And she didn't try to support us or anything but she warned us about it. So it might not be a trick." Miroku pointed out. Shippo gaped at him. "Who's side are you on? She pushed you out a window!"

"I can fly." Miroku shrugged and Shippo sighed with frustration. 

Inu-Yasha sighed. "Still, as much as I'd hate to listen to that stupid cat, we don't have a choice and she's probably telling the fuckin' truth anyway."

"Inu-Yasha…" Kagome said warningly. "Your language."

Inu-Yasha glared at her but said nothing. "Let's go."

Bankotsu smiled at his reflection in his Banryu sword, polishing every last inch of the giant blade. In the room the rest of his team was doing the same, working on their own special weapons for the upcoming battle, all inwardly excited for the war. 

Jakotsu was the only one not working on his weapon, instead helping two of the other members out, the large, heavily operated on Genkotsu and the pale Suikotsu. Jakotsu was explaining to them what he had seen, briefly, in the new and improved mortal plane and was also helping install better weapons as they worked. 

"Ah, there will be blood tonight, brothers." Bankotsu said, standing up. Even dead his back was stiff from sitting crouched over his weapon all day. He held the Banryu sword in one hand and swung and slashed it experimentally. 

"How kind of Naraku to give us full leave of Hell on the night of the Third Strike." Another Shichinin-tai member smiled. "Tonight will be quite memorable."

"You mean when we eliminate the weak demons and overthrow one of the Lords while his army is off doing something else?" Bankotsu grinned. "I'll call that one memorable."

Renkotsu nodded. While he held no weapon in his hands it was obvious that he too was preparing for the Seven's night to shine. The painted and spike-haired member fought with his strength and his hands and weapons were weapons to him. 

"But remember Inu-Yasha-kun is mine!" Jakotsu claimed and the other two members beside him shook their heads with amusement. Bankotsu laughed. "Well, I suppose we should be staking claims now, shouldn't we? Who wants who?"

"I want the wolf." Renkotsu stood up with a dark expression. "Or his son for that matter."

"It matters not to us." Suikotsu said from beside Genkotsu, who nodded. "But let me claim the Reborn girl and Genkotsu may have the fox if he wishes."

"I lay claim to Sesshoumaru." Hissed the sixth member, a hunched figure wrapped in cloth. "Repayment."

Bankotsu nodded, strapping his sword to his back. "And the claims are made. Remember! We can not kill one claimed by another. That's unsportsmanlike."

"And who do you claim, Ani-ki?" Jakotsu asked curiously. Bankotsu smiled and tapped the side of his nose. 

"That's my secret."

The hall of Sesshoumaru's army was a flurry of organized activity, as generals and soldiers began grouping in their formations, working madly as they checked and rechecked armour, tested weapons, went over battle tactics one last time. Sesshoumaru himself watched all of this on the grounds as he stood high up in the master's roost, a specific area designed for this exact purpose. Soon the pandemonium calmed down and ceased entirely as the army had formed itself into five divisions and ten separate groups; Alpha to Gamma and the fifth called Home. Each group was divided into two halves, one strengthened in defending and the other in attacking, and each had four specialized quarters. The army numbered close to a million soldiers, all trained and most hardened soldiers. They belonged to the army of the Key of Power for a reason.

Sesshoumaru watched them, dressed in his own battle armour. His old, aristocratic outfit was gone; it was now replaced with a short cloth over his right shoulder and down his arm, as well as the mysterious tail-like article he always wore around his shoulder.  The metal decoration covered his weakened left arm and attached to a chest plate that was patterned with the symbol of the Fourth Lord. His two swords hung by his side and he wore the decorative dagger made by the blacksmith on the other side of his hip. He wore little armour, not as a sign of stupidity or even of arrogance, it was a sign of his power and lack of fear. 

The soldiers were all perfectly aware that they were being watched by Sesshoumaru and soon the kappa Mizuki finished his inspection and stood at the head of the army, nodding up to the Fourth Lord. 

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Every single soldier here is ready and waiting for your command. We will not disappoint you my lord. The Fourth Lord's army will be victorious and we will reign mightily and all will tremble at our name!" He shouted out ritually and the army roared. 

Sesshoumaru nodded before speaking. "Army of the Key of Power, we are called to prevent an apocalypse and destroy a traitor. The outcast Naraku has broken all laws and is attacking the weak and undefended mortal plane ahead of time, a cowardly move. I, Sesshoumaru, am the Fourth Lord of Hell and I have dealt with Naraku before. He is a coward but he has a silver tongue. Will the Key of Power let this outcast and traitor throw this existence into chaos? No. 

"This has become our war." Sesshoumaru said, clenching his armoured fist. Even the most veteran soldiers would always fall for this seemingly act of passion and compassion. Soldiers were easily manipulated and that is why Sesshoumaru hated them. "Naraku has broken this treaty with us. We will destroy him and take his land. We will kill any of those joining with him and take all that is theirs. Anyone against us is food for our thirsty swords. And if we play our cards right, there will be many mortals souls on which to feast. This is our war. Let us take advantage of it while the angel's rules can do nothing to stop us."

The army roared in agreement and Sesshoumaru nodded to Mizuki, who was eyeing him with debatable respect. The kappa nodded back and turned to the army, raising his staff for silence. 

"Sesshoumaru-sama has spoken!" He said. "Now…"

Sesshoumaru left, not hearing the rest of Mizuki's speech. He frowned as he entered the cold building. He hated war and he hated soldiers. He will be quite glad when this was over. 

"Touching." The trespasser said from it's perch beside his door. Sesshoumaru gave no response. "Just remember our bargain."

Sesshoumaru eyed the demon coldly. "Leave now while I am still in a good mood."

The trespasser bowed and smiled. "Yes, m'Lord." It said before disappearing. 

Sesshoumaru punched in the key lock and when into his room, stalking over to his computer in frustration. Rin looked up from her spot on the floor where she was playing with some of Sesshoumaru's old figures he had used for battle tactics before mortals had invented computers. "Sesshoumaru-sama, is everything alright."

"Rin, do not speak to Sesshoumaru-sama when he is trying to concentrate on the Third Strike!" Jaken snapped at the girl. Rin stuck her tongue out at him and Jaken glared at her. 

"Jaken, do shut up." Sesshoumaru said, rubbing the bridge of his nose in frustration. "There is precious little time and I do not need distractions. Rin, could you go make some tea?"

Rin perked up. "Yes Sesshoumaru-sama!" She said, quickly running off. Jaken frowned and tipped over one of the soldiers the girl had been playing with, knowing any other type of destruction could result him in getting horribly mauled. He leaned against his staff and sighed. 

"Here we are." The first demon said, eyeing the clouds as they towered darkly over the city. The streets were nearly empty as people hid from this terrible force of nature that loomed over them. They rumbled threateningly as a cold wind swept through the streets and buildings. "That calm is over."

The second nodded, watching the sky as the black clouds rolled over, giving out a tremendous thundering before slowly releasing their cache of water onto Tokyo. The demon leaned against the building's railing, the cold water quickly drenching it as it smiled. "Yes. And the storm has begun."

End Chapter 29

Again! I'm sorry! And there's no preview tonight but I'll re-post this tomorrow with a preview of chapter 30 if you want to check it out. Oh, and also! My website's (kinda) up! Not everything works and I still have to scan some things in but it's almost up! Hurrah!

Shout outs:

**CorkyComp**: Okay, yeah, not much happens in 28, sue me. Not much happens in 29 either but it gives you an idea of what's going on in the lives of everyone before the whole world gets screwed over (except Naraku 'cause you're not allowed to know what he's doing) And let's see YOU write a 5 page long chapter every day, plus school and work. Eh? Eh?

**link no miko**: Ah, so that's what you meant. I see now. And that's who Yuuhi-kun is? *squeals* Squee! I love him! So that's his name *scribbles it down for future reference* And I've only see a few tapes of FY because I've never really heard of it and I live in a dork town. But my friend's lending me her entire DVD collection… sometime… 'com Stephy I'm waiting…

I got Chobits on VCD's to. Chinatown baby, that's where it's at. Except there's too much Hello Kitty stuff… anyways, CLAMP is great. They are my idols. My dream is to go to Japan and join CLAMP. I dream too much. And I thick my fave CLAMP series is a toss up between Chobits and X (X is pretty but Sumomo's just so CUTE!) And there's about 4 or 5 Inu-games, it's just they're bringing the fighting one over to North America.

Red or green? I can't tell you that! A magician never reveals their secrets and an author never reveals their plot until their last chapter. It's an unwritten law! And yes, I typed the last bit quickly. Wanna know why? Because I DID put that M/S part in it for you, mostly because I needed to add more space, but yes, it was for you. Feel special and appreciate. Appreciate dammit *shakes fist*

Re-port tomorrow! SORRY!

~Ama  



	30. Chapter 30: Storm

Just a warning: This chapter's a bit depressing since you know the war's starting and all, there's bound to be deaths. 

Disclaimer: Mine! This story is all mine! Mwahahahaha! Except I don't own Inu-Yasha and I have to kill that guy with the Guardian Angel manga…. But the story and it's concept are all mine! Now read and enjoy.

Shnaboo! How doing? Is everyone cool and fruity on this lovely week? I have had TOO much coffee today so now I'm bouncy and I also stayed up WAY too late last night babysitting (hence the major consumption of coffee) but at least I got more money! Money, money, money! Whee! I can't wait until May. Conventions! I'm going to blow my entire salary in less than a week! Feel the love…

And now that I'm all better and have taken control once again of my less-than-normal life I can concentrate on what really matters: Writing this story and trying to figure out how to stowaway on a flight to Japan. And not necessarily in that order. ^_^;

Shoutouts: 

**Ronagu-chan:** Your dive coach is also your history teacher and she sings in class? How odd, how odd indeed. Ah well, teachers are a breed of their own, the crazy psycho-thingies. And yep, I've read all of Wish that's been translated thus far and it's cute ^_^. But it didn't directly influence my story, although I might have accidentally picked up some things. Except now that you mention it all I can picture is a chibi Inu-Yasha stuck in a tree. Or even better, a chibi Sesshoumaru dressed like Koryu. Okay, I'm scaring myself now… (and sure, I'll email you! But what be the topic? Hmm… how about I email you my new background for when I doodle up my website and actually make it look good?)

**ChocolateEclar:** /\/\30\/\/. (That's L33T for meow) Another great chapter and hopefully they get better! The war starts next chapter (which is called 'War') and much fighting begins! Although it won't be happy fighting and personally I think I suck at writing fight scenes but if you like then great! Just keep reviewing! And Netsuna's your favourite character? Fantabulous, since a few people seem to think she's evil and all that. My favorite's Mizuki, just because he's a funny kappa and all kappas are funny and he's also the only person who actually as the guts to do something like stick their tongue out at Sesshoumaru (sure it's behind his back, but Micky still does it!)

**InuSaiyanPrincess:** Yep, that was the calm before the storm, both figuratively and literally. And this story honestly can't be the best on the site. C'mon, there are people who write just as well as me. But hey, if you're gonna insist I might as well bask in the glory. And I didn't win writing contests for nutin' you know! We learned in my classes about all the angles of the characters and shmuff so I guess it just stuck with me and my writing. It's horrible how English has disabled me from watching anime properly… oh the horror…

**Shichan Goddess:** hmm… 1, 2, 3, 4…. Come on, where's the rest of them? I kow you can do better than that and give me the other 25 reviews for the other chapters. Even if they're all just 'great job' that doesn't matter. Please? I'll give you candy…

**Inuficcrzy:** Just kicks ass out the wazoo, eh? What is a wazoo anyway? I've heard of it for so long but I never found it in the dictionary or anything. And yay, my fic has detail, intrigue, mystery and pretty decent humour! Oh, I'm so happy I could glomp Sesshoumaru! *does so*

**Aya:** Shades of chap 292? Oh right, chap 292! Me and my sister love that one! Squee! Ah, stupid Miroku….

And now on with the story! (remember, sad. If you're a softy, you may need tissues.)

(Oh. And I don't know where the centre of Tokyo is. I'm pretty sure it's the Tokyo Tower though) 

**Chapter 30: **

**Storm**

The storm raged so suddenly that even though it was expected it still shocked everybody. The thunder crashed once before a torrent of rain poured down, drenching the city. After a moment or so the hostile rain ceased to be replaced by still hard but a much steadier rain, punctuated by lighting and thunder occasionally. 

Kagome didn't like the way this week was going. As they headed deeper into the city to reach the centre of Tokyo the rain seemed to get harder and the wind seemed fiercer, although that very well may be her imagination. The city was dark despite the time of day and the occasional lightning flashes made everything seem eerie. Kagome held onto Inu-Yasha's shoulders more tightly as one flash illuminated the streets briefly, followed by a thunderous crash. 

"Fuck this looks bad." Inu-Yasha swore under his breath, water dripping down into his face. "This rain's not natural."

"You mean someone caused this storm?" Sango asked from the back of Kirrara. 

"Are you wet?" Inu-Yasha snapped back, flicking some water off of his ears as if to emphasize the point.

"No need for anger." Miroku said calmly from behind Sango. "But does getting wet have something to do with the purpose of this storm? I don't think any of us have ever been caught in the rain with exception to some light drizzles and they didn't seem much."

"Rain is like anything else on the mortal plane." Shippo said, shaking his head and his tail to get the water out, draining his tail on Inu-Yasha's head, who looked murderous. "It can affect you but only if you really want it to. But if the rain's getting us wet whether we want it to or not which means that it has some spiritual energy behind it."

"So that means that somebody planned this." Kagome realized. Shippo nodded. 

"And it was probably one of Naraku's goonies, thinking it would be a good setting for the Third Strike."

"WAR, brat, this is a war. NOT the Third Strike, you fuckin' get me?" Inu-Yasha snarled. Kagome flicked one of his ears with annoyance. "Inu-Yasha, what have I said about language?"

Her guardian mumbled something as he turned down an alleyway. "So where the hell are we going?"

"The message was to meet at the centre of the city." Kagome said. "So that should be around here…" The dimly flashing lights of the Tokyo tower could be made out in the dark. She pointed for it. "There! I think that might be it. Something always happens at the Tokyo tower."

"That's not reassuring." Inu-Yasha grumbled as he slowed down as they reached the tower. "So? Where the hell's the guy we're supposed to meet or whatever?"

Kagome slid down from his back and fruitlessly tried to dry herself, while her guardian shook like a dog to get most of the water out of his hair, pointless since it was sopping a moment later. Shippo wrinkled his nose. "You stink."

Inu-Yasha glared back.

Kirrara alighted on the ground, letting her passengers off but remaining in her stronger form, completely on alert. Picking up on her guardian's nervousness Sango materialized her more comfortable black outfit and giant boomerang weapon, looking around. Shippo clung tightly to Kagome's shoulder and Inu-Yasha sniffed the air before realizing he couldn't smell anything. "Bah."

"What's wrong Inu-Yasha?" Kagome asked quickly, sticking close to the half-angel. She didn't want to be kidnapped or attacked again, not in this weather or under these circumstances. Inu-Yasha moved a half-step towards her protectively but now looked more irritated than worried. 

"This damn rain's blocking my senses." He growled. "Demons rely on their senses more than anything while angels rely on skill."

"But aren't you more angel than demon?" Miroku wondered aloud. Inu-Yasha responded only with a dirty look before taking a step forward, hand near Tetsusaiga's hilt. He looked around impatiently, shaking more water off again.

"Now what the twelve hells is going on and where's the guy we're supposed to m-"

"Kagome-nee-san!" A sudden scream interrupted the dog angel and everyone quickly turned to see where it was coming from. The darkness made it hard to see anything and the constant drumming of the rain and thunder made it impossible to locate by sound. Suddenly Kagome sensed the demon however, just as the scream broke through again. 

"Kagome-nee-san! Inu-Yasha-san! Help!" 

"That's Okuro!" Kagome realized, running forward. Inu-Yasha quickly jumped ahead of her, grabbing her shoulder and stopping her. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" He growled, more worriedly than threateningly. Kagome struggled to get his hand off of her while she conjured up a bow and some arrows. 

"That's Okuro-kun in there!" She said, pointing at the dim lights that heralded the base of the Tokyo tower. "And there's demons there too!"

Sango ran up to meet them, confusion and concern on her face. "Okuro-kun? What's he dong here?" she asked. Kagome was about to reply when the scream came again, this time much closer. 

"Kagome!"

"Dammit Inu-Yasha, let me go!" Kagome broke free of her guardian's grip and ran into the rain until she could sense that she was close enough to the demons. Quickly notching an arrow she drew, aimed and fired at once sense, closing her eyes to see it better in her mind. The arrow left a glowing trail before it imbedded itself into one of the demon's arms. The demon shrieked and turned in her direction before throwing something back at her. 

"Not so fast!" Inu-Yasha quickly, knocking the weapon out of the air with his sword. The demons were coming closer now, around fifty to sixty of them, most of them around half the size of Inu-Yasha but very strong looking, with flat faces, sharp fangs and short swords. Chibi oni, Kagome thought with a grim smile. That's something you don't see every day. 

"Kagome, get the brat out of here!" Inu-Yasha barked as he cut one charging demon in half. Sango knocked a few back with her boomerang while Kirrara broke one in pieces with a powerful bite. Miroku picked up his staff and quickly joined the fight, standing to one side with his air rip. "Get out of the way!" he shouted.

However as soon as he opened the void and sucked about six of the demons in one opened a bag. In the darkness it was almost impossible to see what was released but Kagome sensed a group of small demons and could hear a faint buzzing over the rain. Miroku quickly sealed up his hand, a pained look on his face. 

"Houshi-sama, are you alright?" Sango asked in concern as she knocked another oni away with Hiraikotsou. Miroku nodded. 

"Naraku has these insects that he created in my ancestor's time… kind of a anti-air rip since if I suck them in I get poisoned." He winced but grabbed his staff and jumped in to bat two away and knock a third demon to the ground in time to save Sango. "Sorry." He grinned faintly as Sango rolled her eyes at the mysteries of male tenacity. 

Kagome ran around the fighting, holding an arrow notched in case a demon decided to come after her. "Okuro-kun! Okuro-kun!" She shouted while Shippo tried to peer into the darkness with his sharper senses.

 "Kagome-nee-san!" Okuro ran through the mess up to Kagome, the ever faithful rabbit Momiji hanging off of his shoulder. The boy had a small cut across his cheek but otherwise seemed fine. "Kagome, are you alright?"

"Okuro-kun, Momiji-kun what are you doing here?" Kagome asked in seriousness, bending down to wipe the small bit of blood off of his cheek and make sure he had no wounds anywhere else. "You're supposed to stay with Kaede-sama, where it's safe! This is no place for you!"

"We know that Kagome-nee-san but Kaede-sama had something to give you." Okuro said, giving her a piece of paper. Shippo scramble to the top of her shoulder as they tried to read it in the dim light.

_Kagome, if you are reading this than it might not be too late. Hopefully you haven't seen signs of it yet but if you have or if you haven't I must warn you: Naraku has broken the war treaty and has attacked a full day early. You don't have much time but I must warn you. Stay out of the city's centre and please do your best to get as many people out of there as possible._

"Stay away from the centre of the city? Little late for that." Shippo scoffed and Kagome shushed him as she read on. 

_The war hasn't started yet in Hell but the last second preparations have been made and no doubt Naraku's forces have started invading the mortal plane. They only have two missions. One would be to devour as many souls as possible and the other would be to dispose of you and your friends. I'm afraid that it will be another 30 or so hours before Heaven can intervene and even the entire collection of Ghosts is not enough to stop an army of demons. My best bet for you is that you go to Sesshoumaru-sama's in Hell. He is the strongest of the Lords and will probably at least protect you until the war has died down. Please be careful and watch out for angels and demons alike. Kaede._

"Can nobody write an non-cryptic letter? Or is this some spiritual law I've never heard of?" Kagome gritted her teeth as she re-read Kaede's letter a few more times. "Go to Sesshoumaru's? Inu-Yasha will never do that. And just what does she mea-"

"Kagome, look out!" Shippo squealed and Kagome turned around just in time to see the demon lunge at her. 

For a moment all she saw was teeth, steel and rain as she was knocked down onto the wet ground. Shippo was biting onto the creature's ear with a vengeance and despite the demon's hoarse shouting in it's own language Shippo refused to let go. Finally the oni decided to just ignore the fox child and turned it's attention back to Kagome, picking up it's crude sword. 

Shippo persisted by biting down harder and beating the oni's head with his tiny fists. With a look of exasperation the oni raised it's sword and struck the tiny angel on the head with the handle. Shippo squealed and fell to the ground, unconscious. 

"Shippo-chan!" Kagome shouted, grabbing her bow and arrows. She aimed it at her attacker, standing up quickly. "Stay away!" She order. "Get out of there!"

The demon looked at her to her arrow and back again, grinning. "Good-bye little Reborn." It said thickly, raising it's sword. Kagome drew her arrow back tighter, trying to warn it. The demon just grinned with an even darker expression. "I don't think so."

"Kagome-san!" Okuro screeched. Two other demons had cornered him and now had their swords raised to strike him, watching Kagome and her attacker with crude smiles. Kagome realized now. The moment she fired that arrow Okuro's life was forfeit. She turned back to the first oni, who was grinning maliciously. 

"Kagome! Shoot him, quick!" Okuro yelled as Momiji stood in front of the boy, trying to guard him from the two swords. Kagome's hand shook until she made up her mind

"Kagome? Hey, what the hell?!" Inu-Yasha suddenly noticed them and he began beating and pummelling his way through the mess, giving up his sword and simple trying to claw his way through the group of oni. "Out of my way!" He snarled at them, sending one flying into the air with a broken neck.  "Kagome!"

Kagome drew the arrow back, aiming it straight at the first demon's head. In return it swung it's sword up and the other two demons prepared to knock down Okuro the moment she let go of the arrow. Kagome glanced from the first to the other two, knowing that they would kill Okuro no matter what. There was only one way to get out of this situation with one of them alive. 

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha shouted, getting into a fistfight with one of the demons. 

Kagome glared back at her attacker, seemingly not noticing her struggling guardian. "Go back to Hell." She said firmly to the first oni. Then she swung the bow around and shot both of the demons threatening Okuro and Momiji. There was a momentary flash of light in the darkness of the storm and Kagome saw the other two demons drop to the ground and disappear. 

Blinking for a moment the first oni realized what was going on and snarled, hitting the girl before she could draw another arrow. Kagome fell back, seeing spots dance before her. The oni raised it's sword to kill her, a lightning flash streaking behind it to illuminate the demon in an almost cliché pose.

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha shouted. 

"Nee-san, look out!" The next moment happened to fast for Kagome to comprehend. Inu-Yasha sprung out of the fighting, drawing his sword in the blink of an eye and slashing right through the demon, just as Momiji leaped protectively in front of Kagome and the oni's sword swung downwards. 

There was a pause of silence backed by the pounding of the rain and Miroku, Sango and Kirrara making short work of the remaining demons. The oni that had been threatening Kagome split in half and vanished, but no one seemed to notice. Suddenly Okuro was beside Kagome, wailing. "Momiji!"

Kagome leaned down and put a hand on Momiji's limp form, sensing absolutely nothing. With a small reserve of energy she had remaining she conjured a blanket and carefully wrapped Momiji's broken body in it, trying not to break down. The quiet but determined little angel… 

"He died nobly." Miroku said, placing a hand on the wrapped bundle and quickly saying a prayer. Kirrara picked up the still unconscious and quite wet Shippo and sat down beside Sango, who was watching in sombre silence. Inu-Yasha simply stood there. 

"Momiji-kun!" Okuro whimpered, looking lost. Kagome didn't know what to say to the poor child who had lost both angels that had lived with him. His fingers twitched, as if he wanted to touch Momiji's body but then he got up and started running into the night. 

"Okuro!" Kagome stood up swiftly, starting to run after the boy but both visibly and in her senses Okuro just disappeared. She paused from running, not just because of Okuro's disappearance but because Momiji had vanished from her arms as well, passing on to wherever angels went. She clung hopelessly to the cloth he had been wrapped in as everyone else ran up to her, staring in the blackness where Okuro had disappeared. 

"Kagome?" Shippo said, barely conscious on Kirrara's back. He carefully jumped into her arms and looked at her with curiosity and concern. "Kagome, what's wrong?" Obviously no one had told him yet. 

Kagome didn't respond but instead took Shippo into a hug, nearly crushing him, as she finally dissolved into tears. 

Mizuki frowned as he looked out at the mortal plane, holding out a hand to feel the rain pour steadily down. He sniffed the air experimentally and growled, turning to the Alpha, Beta and Gamma teams of Sesshoumaru's army. "Somebody doesn't want us to fight at our best." He said, glaring back out at the rain. "This isn't an ordinary rain and no doubt that damned Outcast is behind this. Bloody hell, this probably means some of those angels are on his side too. And mortals. Fuck."

He looked at the three team leaders, a large oni, a fox demon and a tough looking, unidentifiable creature, all three dressed in the Fourth Lord's armour and insignia. In turn to the generals there were the four defensive and offensive quarterly officers, each in charge of their half of the teams, around fifty-thousand soldiers in each of the team's quarters. Each team was specially organized and trained so that every single advantage could be used. While some looked a bit nervous of the rain they all looked pretty confident in their trainings. 

Mizuki tapped his first officer staff. "Team Alpha, your quadrant is the mortal city itself. Divide up into seven separate and even teams on each side and scatter throughout in a ripple movement. Place the swiftest on the outside and the strongest in the middle ring." The oni leader nodded and barked the orders back to the smaller officers and soldiers. Within the space of a moment the entire team had disappeared to surround the city. Alpha's strength was strength itself and the team should be able to contain most of the invasion. Mizuki then turned to team Gamma, trained for the ultimate in barrier strength and speed. 

"Gamma, surround the city and following woods, spreading out until you reach the Ninth mortal key. Keep two of each soldiers to one square and kill anything spiritual that crosses your path and does not carry the emblem of Sesshoumaru-sama." The demon leader of Gamma nodded and the team swiftly dispersed. 

Mizuki quickly ordered Beta to split up to surround and protect the other twelve keys, with orders not to touch anything until the war was over. Once Beta had disappeared the kappa leaned on his spear to feel the harsh storm exact it's unjust power on the city. He couldn't help but feel a piece of pity for the mortals; kappas were some of the few demons that didn't feast on mortal souls. He tried to picture Sesshoumaru's nephew and his mortal/angel companions, trapped in the centre of this stupid. He sighed and shook his head. Praise the Hells he didn't have to fight.

A demon appeared behind him suddenly. He glanced back, realized who it was and turned back to stare out the city. When the demon behind didn't take the hint Mizuki decided to say it out plainly. 

"Go away." He said bluntly. 

The other demon made no reply for a moment. "I just wanted to talk." It finally said. "I've been discussing some… things and I think we may have a problem."

"Then go talk to Sesshoumaru."

"They involve Sesshoumaru."

Mizuki grimaced as he tapped his claw against the spear shaft with impatience. Damn the Heavens for his stupid curiosity. Finally giving in he turned around to face the messenger. "Fine then, what is it?"

"Kagome-chan, are you going to be okay?" Sango asked, helping the girl up. While Inu-Yasha and Miroku went to go scout the tower they had given the girls a moment but now were coming back, empty handed it seemed. Kagome nodded in response to Sango's question.

"I'll be alright, don't worry about it." She said, trying fruitlessly to get some water off of her. "It's just this damn rain…"

Sango smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "A few months ago I would have been shocked to hear you swear, Kagome-chan. I think Inu-Yasha's rubbing off on you."

Kagome blinked at blushed. "He's a terrible influence."

"Who's a terrible influence?" Inu-Yasha asked, as Kagome rolled her eyes and smiled. "Nothing Inu-Yasha." She said with false innocence. 

Inu-Yasha looked at her, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. "You alright?" He asked. When Kagome said nothing he twitched his nose in impatience. "Did you hear me? I asked if you were okay."

"I heard." Kagome said, nodding. She smiled. "It's just that such politeness that doesn't sound forced is a rarity for you, Inu-Yasha."

Inu-Yasha's eyes narrowed. "Hey wench, I can be fucking polite when I want to be!" He snapped and Kagome started giggling. Deciding he didn't want any more part of this Inu-Yasha crossed his arms again, turning his back from his task. "Women."

"So did you find anything?" Sango asked Miroku, while Shippo hopped over to his task's shoulder to shake vigorously, which would have further soaked Miroku if all of them hadn't already been soaked to the bone, in a figurative sense. Still, it was uncomfortable and Miroku peeled Shippo off and absently tossed the fox kit back to Kagome while he answered Sango's question. 

"Nothing." He said with a shrug and a slightly worried look. "I'm beginning to wonder if that message was perhaps a trap."

"Wouldn't doubt it." Inu-Yasha snorted. He was about to make some other snide remark when a voice from above interrupted them all. 

"Now what would the group of ya all be doin' here?" Everyone looked up to see a man sitting on the faint and barely aiding streetlight, a slight whitish glow about him. The glow and aura were brighter in Kagome's eyes and she immediately sensed what he was. 

"That's an angel." She said as Sango and Miroku and even Inu-Yasha prepared their weapons. While Sango and Miroku eased up a little the three guardian angels didn't look at all relieved at the news. 

The angel, in fact, looked a bit surprised at Kagome's observation. "Well, what 'ave we got here? A little angel detector or something like that? What's your name, pet?" He said, leaning down with a slight curiosity. Kagome then noticed that despite the pour rain all about them he was perfectly dry and almost a contrast to the blackness of the night and the storm, with his elaborate and decorative white clothes and long, light purple hair.

"None of your damn business." Inu-Yasha growled. The angel looked at him with a frown. Then he blinked and stared at Inu-Yasha a moment long, squinting a bit but not moving from his post. "Wait a minute, I know you. You're the threeblood that killed Kikyou!" He said the last sentence with a wrinkled nose, like an aristocrat who is forced to mention peasants. 

Inu-Yasha only growled. 

The angel was back to looking at Kagome but there was no more friendly curiosity in his gaze instead a slight malicious tone. "So I guess that makes you the Reborn, huh pet? And the rest of you…" He quickly glanced over the rest of the group, a dark smile on his face. "Well, well, well, isn't this interesting…"

"Who's side are you on?" Shippo asked fiercely, looking quite pathetic so dripping wet. The angel looked at him with contempt. 

"Figure it out for yourself brat. I'm a wanderer and you're a tenth my size." He stood up, unfazed by the pouring rain that seemed to avoid him. "Naraku's not the only one who think mortal humans are disgusting creatures. There are many of us that prefer his side."

"Is that what he told you?" Kagome asked. "Because that's not what he's doing! He's going to destroy all the keys and all of existence itself! How can you believe that liar, he's just saying that so that you'll join him!"

"Shut up, Reborn." The angel hissed. "You're as bad as the threeblood except that he actually has angel blood. You're just a pathetic copy." He rose in the air, taking note that Inu-Yasha had his weapon out. "I'm not in this for the glory more than I'm in it for the satisfaction. So I won't bother capturing you. However if you don't want to die I suggest you hide like the pathetic little rodents you are. There are going to be a lot looking for you." He laughed. "The storm is drowning you and the war is upon us! The Third Strike has begun!"

Inu-Yasha threw his sword up but the angel disappeared before the weapon hit it's target. Inu-Yasha jumped up to grabbed Tetsusaiga and landed, growling. Kagome stood there for a moment, contemplating what had happened in the past hour, the message she had gotten from Kaede and the angel's disturbing words. She walked up to Inu-Yasha and put a hand on his shoulder. 

"Inu-Yasha, I think we should go to your uncle's."

End chapter 30

*sniff* I told you it was a sad one. Poor Momiji! Stupid muse, why did you have to kill him? *beats a picture representation of her muse* Bad, bad, bad! *notices everyone staring at her* Um…  okay, fine, no more coffee…

And guess what guys! I'm going to stop beating around the poor, beaten bush and get on with the story now! The next chapter's the last chapter of Book Two and then after that we move onto Book Three, where it's war, action, suspense, horror, romance, drama, sad parts, death and of course Sesshoumaru in all his prettiness. *kuggles Sesshoumaru plushie* Plushies are the greatest thing ever invented! Squee! *coughs* Ahem, so yes, after the next chapter the war's on full blast and all the fun war-stuff happens, not to mention a lot of surprises! Whee!

Shoutouts:

**Person:** Intriguing name. And hurrah, another whom I have managed to suck into my realm! Woot! And I got this idea from a silly little dream I had. Ah, the silly little dream… Sesshoumaru was my guardian angel you know and there is nothing better than spending an afterlife with the prettiest bish in existence… (and I update on Mondays! Mondays! Learn that people, learn!)

**link no miko:** Stupid FFN won't let you log in to review? Why that stupid, stupid server! Let's beat it with a thousand sand particles. Then it will learn… And yes, that chapter was truly for you. Feel the love ^_^. And Xenosaga! Oh, the many hours of playing and sore thumbs… that and Zelda: OoA for GBC has consumed much of my time. I can't get enough! (although the repetitive tunes of Zelda are beginning to grate my nerves) And the X Kamui/Fuuma spread. I had a big picture of that on my wall but it kept falling on my face while I slept so now it's just pinned beside my art desk for, you know, inspiration. Or long hours of staring at it and cursing CLAMP for their prettiness. Just like my art books. I'm weird. And for your chapter parts I put the little boy in to show that Kikyou's not all bad (yeah right) since, you know, she did get along with kids. Except I always thought kids were supposed to be able to sense evil. Ah well. And where would we be without Miroku, and the lack of his comic relief?  Poor Shippo he tries so hard and nobody cares. As for the watchers…. *grin* I know, I'm evil. And that's okay, I forgive you for your criticism. I really should stop procrastinating this stuff so I have enough time to check it over. My compu has stopped being a ging (what is that anyway?) and school's cool and fruity! Happy saint Patty's day! Time to go drinking!

Oh yes, and the preview for the next chapter: 

Preview Chapter 31: War

                _ "So that's your plan?" Kikyou asked in her close sarcasm. Kagura gave her a matching icy glare and nodded. Kikyou shrugged indifferently. "Seems rather simple to me. I can't believe I never thought of it."_

_                Kagura smiled. "That's the funny thing about history. Nobody ever does bother to think about it. If the threeblood and the Reborn had any intelligence in them they'd figure it out soon enough. Especially the way history is repeating itself." _

_                Kikyou didn't look convinced. "Naraku has died before." She pointed out._

_                "And the hanyou was alive in that time." Kagura also pointed out. "The threeblood won't be this time if this works."_

_                "_When_ this works." Kikyou reminded her. _

_                Kagura nodded. "When this works. And it will. Because knowing that insufferable threeblood he's probably either too proud or too stupid to tell his companions the secret that just may save their lives." She smiled. "But all the better for us."_

End preview.

Well? Just what are Kikyou and Kagura planning? dun, Dun DUN! Any guesses? Probably not but if you do don't say (or spell it in pig latin or L33T or whatever) No spoilers, okay you smart people! And the rest of you, wrack your brains to figure out what they're planning! (although you won't find out for a while) - -;…

Ah well! See you next Monday to maybe get more hints on these questions and to read the final chapter of Book Two! Then onto Book Three! Well, I'm off to keep typing! (and you see that little button on the bottom left corner. You know what to do)

~Ama

Quote of the week: Talking to oneself is a sign of genius. Talking back is the sign of insanity (what if you argue?)


	31. Chapter 31: War

Allo everybody! Is everyone good this week? With exception to this stupid March weather, damn you snow and rain *shakes fist angrily* I've had a good one. Well, with exception to math but we're not talking about the evilness right now. *more fist shaking*

SPIRITED AWAY WON AN OSCAR!! Squee, that makes me sooo happy! YAY! Rejoicing!

Want to know something really sad? I was fooling around on my compu, as I usually do when experiencing writer's block, and I discovered something. It's the entire symbol list of weird random thingies that you can do on word! You have to be in Multilingual mode and then just hold CRTL and SHIFT and type! Guess what I found? YEN! ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥!!!!! This costs 2, 800¥ House of Bishes costs 300¥ I want 6, 000, 000, 000, 000¥! Yen Yen Yen ¥ ¥ ¥!!! Okay, I stop now. 

Shoutouts:

Cheery Wolf, Tsukinoko, lindy*girl, MoonBeam020789: I'm continuing as fast as I can! I have other stuff to do besides this you know! And the Tokyo Tower is probably THE most attack are in the world where the attack involve aliens, giant monsters, demon or underage schoolgirls trying to save the world. What's next? I'll tell you what's next… if you pay me! A well written story, that's what! 

**ktbabe228: **If you don't know what to say, that's alright. You still gave me a nice, long review and now you're going to give me more nice, long reviews, right? Right? And you'll answer all those questions yourself so I won't answer them for you.

**InuSaiyanPrincess:** I know, I hated killing Momiji, but it was him or Shippo. Okay, I wouldn't killed Shippo but it was best I stuck in some character you knew rather than: look, here's someone random! And now they're dead. You'd feel sad, but not as bad as you do when I kill off a poor, little defenceless rabbit-angel based after a fifteen-year-old who acts like he's eight. And you'll be in suspense! Feel the suspense! Suspense! (that's it Ama, we're taking the coffee away…)

**ChocolateEclar:** FFN acts screwy all the time. It's screwy to begin with. FFN IS the screwy! Screwy! I update every Monday, stop telling me to update soon! If you keep saying that I'm going to cry! Cry! And of course Netsuna's mischievous, she's a cat. Like my cat. My ninja cat. Whom we're going to teach to jump on people's heads from above. Ah, ninjas.

**Inuficcrzy:** That quote came from… oh, I don't remember. But I like it. And I do argue. Secret? Secret? You expect me to tell you about a secret? Silly, silly little person. Ama no tell about secrets. Ama keep you in suspense. Feel the suspense. And I never really did explain the Third Strike, did I? Well, that's what Shippo's for! 

And now, the story! And kudos to anyone who finds the Daredevil reference!

Disclaimer: Don't sure me! I have no ¥!

**Chapter 31:**

**War**

For a moment Inu-Yasha didn't say anything. 

Then he shook himself, fruitlessly removing water that was quickly replaced as he glared into the blackness where the treacherous wandering angel had vanished. Then he turned to his task and looked at her indifferently. "Go to Sesshoumaru's, eh?" He asked, sheathing his sword. "Why? Kaede tell you that?"

Kagome nodded dumbly, not quite sure what else to say. She had just suggested going to Sesshoumaru's but didn't actually except Inu-Yasha would agree with her. In fact, she wanted him to argue with her about going to the Fourth domain of Hell. Instead he seemed to think about it for a moment. "Fuck." He swore, punching a wall lightly. "This is not going right at all."

There was a bit of silence before Shippo, perched in Kagome's arms, spoke up. "Told ya it was the Third Strike." He said in a slightly annoyed tone. "And now we're screwed!" 

"Would you shut up!" Inu-Yasha snapped. Before Shippo could say anything Kirrara let out a hiss, silencing the other two angels. 

Kagome looked at Shippo and Inu-Yasha, glaring at each other, and then Kirrara, who was glaring at them both. The angels looked nervous about something and all the conversation that was gong over Kagome's head had to stop. "Guys, what is the Third Strike?" She asked. "I think we have a right to know." She added before Inu-Yasha could protest. Sango and Miroku nodded. 

"If it's what I think it is, I believe that Shippo may not be all that far from the truth." Miroku said. Inu-Yasha crossed his arms and grumpily looked away. 

"First, let's get rid of this rain." Shippo said, crossing his arms as well and looking up at the bleak sky obscured mostly by the pouring rain. He closed his eyes, put his hands together and began chanting something , his hands glowing a light blue. He paused and opened one eye to glance at Miroku. "Some help here." 

"Hmm? Oh, right. Go ahead." Miroku said, releasing the rosary's hold on Shippo. The tiny fox angel went back to his chanting and soon a very light aura surrounded him and Kagome, blocking out the rain. Shippo stood up and shook himself dry. "There, that's better." He beamed. Catching Kagome and the other's confused looks, he grinned. "I forgot that since this is a magically induced rain angels can block it's effects."

"Shippo, what about your task?" Miroku said, pointing at himself who was aura-free and still sopping wet. Shippo looked at him innocently. "I'm not that strong yet."

Kagome hid a smile as Miroku sighed. Meanwhile Sango and Kirrara were now also dry and after a moment's discussion Kirrara extended the aura to Miroku as well. Miroku patted the feline angel on the head. "Thank you, Kirrara-sama." He said, proceeding to pat Sango as well. The brown-haired girl quickly brought her Hiraikotsu onto the monk's head. "You never learn, do you?" She frowned. 

"I was just expressing my thanks." Miroku protested. "I'm innocent."

"Keh. That's enough bouzo." Inu-Yasha said. Kagome noticed that he was still wet and was now looking even grumpier than before. "Inu-Yasha, aren't you going to dry yourself too?" she asked. Inu-Yasha snorted and turned around. "I don't need to." He growled. "Now let's get going."

"Inu-Yasha probably can't do that spell because of his blood." Shippo rationalized aloud. Inu-Yasha's ears flattened and Kagome put a hand on the fox kit's head to warn him. Shippo took the hint and sat down quietly in the girl's arms.

"Inu-Yasha, exactly where are we going?" Miroku asked. Inu-Yasha glanced back at him, a slight smirk on his face. 

"We're going to Hell." He said. "I gotta talk to that pansy of an uncle of mine and besides, Naraku's down there and that's gonna be the only way to kill him."

"What about the Third Strike?" Sango reminded them. "We were going to hear about it, right?"

Inu-Yasha looked ruffled, or as ruffled as he could be while wet, and snorted. "Fine."

Before Kagome could question her guardian's reluctance to talk about the Third Strike, Shippo coughed. "Basically put, the Third Strike is the end of the world."

There was a brief pause as everyone digested that, and Shippo continued. "In the ancient legends of the spiritual realms and even mortals long ago Fate always worked in triads. There were always three agents to mold the world and three things that would happen in a cycle. Life worked in threes: birth, life and death. Everything has a beginning, middle and end. The sun rises, the sun peaks at noon, the sun sets. There are three existences. Everything works in a pattern of threes.

"The rumor is that the same thing would happen with the strikes. We don't know if we're the first creation or if there had been one, ten or even a billion before us since we have no record. The First Strike happened many, many years ago when the three planes of existence were thought to be one, demons mortals and angels all living together. However the demons and angels soon began a war and came close to nearly destroying the world, instead splitting it up into the three planes: Heaven, the mortal realm and Hell. After that Heaven and Hell were separate, with Earth being the neutral field where all three could live together, with some minor battles. However Hell soon became greedy and weren't just satisfied with the amount of souls granted to them by Heaven; they wanted the entire mortal plane and all the souls that came with it. There was a huge battle that resulted in a lot of chaos and destruction."

"That was the Second Strike?" Kagome asked. Inu-Yasha's ears twitched as Shippo shook his head. 

"No, that was just a war. The Second Strike involved Naraku." He said. "After all three existences were weakened from the war Naraku tried to destroy them all to create the chaos he wanted. He came really close to succeeding and caused a close apocalypse that wiped out a lot of angels and demons and a good number of mortals. Our parents and the other mortals managed to just barely stop him. After that the mortal plane had shifted somewhat, becoming separate from Heaven and Hell. That's when both the guardian angel system was born and Heaven, the mortal plane and Hell became distant from each other.

"Ever since Kikyou died there's been talk that the Third Strike might be happening soon. Now if everything according to legend's true, then we're perfectly set up for it and that means that everything as we know it will be destroyed. That's why a lot of people are opposed to this. It's no secret who our parents are and it's fairly obvious why everyone's been doing everything to stop us. Fate's funny in that way." He shrugged. 

"So if we go to Hell we'll basically be setting ourselves up for causing the end of the world." Miroku straightened out.

Shippo nodded. "Yep."

"Keh, that's just old wives tales." Inu-Yasha snorted. "This certainly isn't the fucking Third Strike so there's nothing to worry about. Now are we going to go kill that bastard or what?"

Kagome wondered if Inu-Yasha knew that everyone knew he was bluffing, or if he did he obviously didn't seem to care. 

"End of the world or not, I'm getting back at Naraku for what he did to me and my family." Sango said firmly. Miroku nodded. "And if I'm going to die I'd rather it be with a fight then by Naraku's curse."

"Damn, if Miroku's going then I have to go!" Shippo whined. Inu-Yasha looked as if he were about to say something so Kagome quickly spoke up. "It's alright Shippo-chan, we'll all be going."

Inu-Yasha's expression turned darker. "You sure as hell are staying near me if we're going down there. Souls are a main course and they'll be looking for whatever they can grab thanks to this war." 

Kagome nodded and Inu-Yasha shook the water out of his hair, glaring at the rain he was powerless to stop. "Then it's settled. Now let's go find a portal before I catch a fucking cold." 

Kikyou wrinkled her nose. "Rain. How pleasant." 

"It should be enough to drive them out." Kagura said smugly. "And if it isn't the war between the demons and angels will surely be enough to convince them to head into Hell. Then it'll be settled."

"Inu-Yasha's too violent, so the main reason he'd head there would be to attack Naraku." Kikyou said, watching out at the barely visible city. 

"And head to Sesshoumaru's first, no doubt." Kagura added. "Which means they'll take the path that's been ambushed for them. 

Kikyou didn't seem half as enthusiastic as the demon. "What you've said has been quite plain. And you're sure that this… plan will work?" Kagura matched her icy glare and nodded. Kikyou shrugged. "It just seems so simply to me. I'm almost disappointed in myself that I never thought about it."

"That's the thing about history and exactly why this plan will work." Kagura said with a slight smile. "This has worked before which means that it will work again."

"Naraku was also killed by Inu-Yasha's father." Kikyou said, not looking convinced. 

"But the hanyou was alive at that time." Kagura pointed out. "The threeblood won't be."

"If this works."

"This will work." Kagura said firmly. "And I know it will, because that insufferable threeblood is either too stupid or too proud to tell his companions that very secret that would otherwise save their lives." She smiled. "But all the better for us."

"Dammit, I hate this rain!" Inu-Yasha swore, trying to fruitlessly shake some water off of himself. "I can't find a damned portal anywhere!" 

They had been walking around for about twenty minutes now, searching for one of the portals that would take them to Sesshoumaru's but since Inu-Yasha was the only one would could find one, in this rain they were basically walking blind. 

"This is getting frustrating." Inu-Yasha growled. "I know there's one around here but I just can't sense anything."

"Looking for something?" A voice came from above. They looked up to see nothing but Kagome saw a small, whitish aura that signified an angel. The dove flew down and transformed into an angel they had met before, the wanderer Ayeka from the fair. Her red hair looked strange in the dark light and rain and she looked more worried then her previous bothersome self from the festival. Inu-Yasha grunted and put a hand on his sword.

"Ayeka, what do you want?" He asked in a half-growl. "You shouldn't be here because of the war. Unless…" He half drew his sword. 

Ayeka shook her head. "Minu-onee-chan's here and that's why I'm here! I'm being a scout for her and all that because nobody suspects a wandering angel and I'm a wandering angel, well maybe the other angels would suspect me but not the other wanderers or the demons so that's why I'm here." The blinked at Kagome and the others. "But why are you here? With your task? Are you stupid?" 

Inu-Yasha frowned. "I'm not stupid." He said. "And what we're doing here is not your business."

Ayeka put her hands on her hips. "Jerk today, jerk tomorrow. You never change, do you?" She turned to Kagome and walked over to her.

"Ayeka…." Inu-Yasha said with another growl.

"Oh relax, it's not like I'm going to eat them. I'm not a demon, mortal souls don't taste yummy to me." She paused and put a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "Although I've actually never tried."

Inu-Yasha growled again.

Ayeka smiled. "Lighten up." She said. "I'm not going to do anything. I'm just curious." She turned back to Kagome. "Why are you here?"

"We're… uh…" Kagome faltered, seeing Inu-Yasha draw a finger across her throat, telling her to quiet down.

"We're going to Hell." Shippo blurted and then covered his mouth. Ayeka blinked. 

"Now why in the Heavens are you doing that?" She directed her question back to Inu-Yasha. Then she smiled. "Oh, I get it. Fine, I can take a hint. If you don't want me around then I'll leave." She floated into the air. "But if you are serious, and one-chan will kill me for saying this, there's a portal just a little over that ways, but it's being guarded by a really cute looking demon." She giggled. 

Inu-Yasha gave a death glare to Shippo and then snorted. "Fine. Thanks Ayeka."

The angel girl's eyes widened. "You _are_ serious? That's suicide!" She then shrugged. "Well, if you survive could you tell some of the demon bachelors that I'm always available. As soon as this war's over I'm going to Mexico. I love the drinks there. Bye!" With that strange farewell she transformed back into the dove and flew through the storm, complete unabated by the winds.

Inu-Yasha blinked after her. "I swear, that girl's on twenty forms of mortal's drugs." He muttered. He turned to Shippo. "And you-"

"Inu-Yasha, he didn't mean it." Kagome said firmly, giving her guardian her own death glare. "And besides, Ayeka told us where a portal was, didn't she? If anything you should thank him." Safe in Kagome's arms Shippo made a face at the irate half-angel. Inu-Yasha twitched an ear. 

"Fine. Well, let's go before someone else who's less friendly finds us." He said gruffly. Kagome looked over at Miroku and Sango and shrugged helplessly. Some people would just never change.

Mizuki tried for the umpteenth time to light his cigarette to no avail. Swearing he threw the third useless one out. If it wasn't the rain it was the wind and if it wasn't the wind it was the rain. He stuck another cig in his mouth and pulled out his palm pilot, checking all the team tactics again, as routine. He then hid as far as he could under the building's outcrop but a gust of wind threw a spray of water right as his face. He shook off and threw his fourth light away, scowling. He hated the mortal world.

He twirled his staff idle, making the rain doing amusing patterns to ease his boredom. Mortals, dead and alive knew better than to venture out in this mess and he had only seen the odd animal. Either nothing exciting was happening or everyone was just avoiding this part of town.

Suddenly his ears perked up, as his sensitive hearing accustomed to water picked the sounds of movement in the rain. He couldn't smell a damn thing, or see for that matter, and didn't know if it was friend or foe. He knew it was none of his men, so it was a pretty good chance they were foe. 

He held his spear at ready, hiding as deep into the shadows as he could, waiting for his prey to come to him. He concentrated on the sounds of the rain to give him a sort of echo-locative view of whoever was coming up. There were five of them… or maybe six, he couldn't tell. The one in front was definitely the leader and was carrying a sword. Probably trying to get into the Fourth Lord's domain. Mizuki opened his eyes, now with a sense of their position, and grinned. Not on his watch.

He crouched down and waited another moment or so, until he could make out his enemies' forms in the thick downpour. Transferring the spear into one hand he quickly leaped into the air to do a swift assassination. The group wouldn't even know their leader was dead until he fell to the ground. Preferably with a perfect line separation one of his sides from the other. Mizuki liked to keep it clean. 

Kagome felt the flash of aura that could only mean one thing and she quickly followed it. "Inu-Yasha, above you!" She shouted quickly. Inu-Yasha barely reacted in time, jumping out of the way as a partially-armored, dark-skinned demon crashed into where the half-angel had been standing a breath before, the demon's three-pronged spear imbedded in the cement road. Quickly shaking the water out of his styled blue hair, the demon got up again, a tell-tale grin on his face.

"Nice work there boy but how long can you keep it up?" He asked, getting into a ready stance. Inu-Yasha growled and drew Tetsusaiga. "Long enough for you, you damn piss-drinker."

The demon's eyes narrowed, the paint above them making him seem more ominous. "Hey, hey, I don't insult neither do you. Now let's get this done quickly, I have a portal to guard."

Inu-Yasha smirked. "So there _is_ a portal here."

Mizuki cursed himself silently for letting that one slip. He quickly nodded, friendly like, to cover up his mistake. "Damned straight. Now let's get this started!" He charged at his opponent with the spear at his side, making it seem that he was trying to shish kabob the enemy. Instead, as soon as he reached the angel he struck the ground with his blades, using a pole-vault effect to fling him over his opponent's head.

"Should we help?" Miroku asked. Sango shook her head. "I think Inu-Yasha can handle this one." Kagome said. Miroku shrugged. "Believe what you want."

"In other words, we're screwed, right?" Shippo said. The look on Kagome's face made Miroku hold in his reply.

Inu-Yasha had prepared for a striking attack but instead the demon seemed to mess up and hit the ground, sending him flying. The half-angel grinned, as he swung his sword upwards. "Hey, that was fast."

"Don't get so hasty." The demon snapped his spear up, catching the blade of Tetsusaiga in between his weapon's three blades. "I'm just warming up." He twisted his body sharply in midair, landing in front of Inu-Yasha with the half-angel's sword in the grip of his own weapon. They both began a test of strength, pushing each other as they tried to break the other's weapons. 

The weapons strained at each other until just the right moment. Mizuki grinned as he did another acrobatic feat and quickly released all pressure on the sword, doing a flip backwards. Startled by the sudden move the angel stumbled forward and nearly fell. 

This was what Mizuki waited for, as he used the staff of the spear to vault himself into the air before he even hit the ground, flying straight over top of the angel. He gripped the staff in both hands and shoved the spear downwards.

Inu-Yasha rolled over and caught the brunt of the stabbing blades with the flat of Tetsusaiga, the sword's large blade saving him from impalement. Using the demon's own velocity he flung the spear and it's owner backwards, quickly standing up and gripped his sword in both hands. 

The demon was back on him, suddenly through with a spectacular show and now ready for the kill, stabbing, twisting, jabbing, striking, swinging and all out in Inu-Yasha's face. The half-angel barely had time to block, much less react fast enough to counter-attack. He swung the sword best he could, and soon began to be able to read his opponent's moves, blocking them faster and easier. Soon he would have the advantage and then he'd get the demon. 

Mizuki smiled to himself. That's it, just keep thinking you know exactly what I'm going to do next, he thought smugly. Angels, they were all the bloody same, with their stupid views on war and 'honorable' fighting. Too hell with all that, a fight to the death was a fight without borders. Much like this one. 

He quickly ducked down instead of the strike the angel was expecting and kicked his opponent in the shin, knocking him back. Mizuki then swung up, grabbing the large sword's hilt in the blades of his spear and swinging the spear around, pulling the sword from it's owner's grip and hitting the angel in the gut at the same time with the end of the rod. 

Damn, he's fast, Inu-Yasha thought as he caught his breath. As the demon looked at him smugly the half-angel quickly glanced to see just how much of a chance he'd be able to reach his sword, now returned to normal, which was on the other side of the street. The demon seemed to read his mind. 

"No chance boy, I'd make a fine stuck roast out of you before you'd even twitched your toes." He said, glancing back at the sword. "That trinket's just not good enough against me."

Inu-Yasha growled. "I'm not finished yet." He said. As the demon was about to make some retort Inu-Yasha was up, slamming his shoulder into his opponent's gut. As the demon gagged in shock and surprise Inu-Yasha slammed his elbow down on the back of his opponent's neck and then kicked him into the air. He jumped up to follow and then slammed his opponent into the ground with a two-fisted hit. As the demon pushed himself up Inu-Yasha landed beside his sword and picked it up, transforming it and getting ready.

Shippo suddenly recognized Inu-Yasha's intent. Stupid moron, what was he thinking? "Inu-Yasha!" Shippo shouted, standing up in Kagome's arms. "You idiot! You can't use the Kaze no Kizu here, there are mortals and buildings and other stuff! It affects the mortal realm too, remember? What are you, braindead?"

Inu-Yasha blinked as he remembered where he was and he growled, putting the sword away. "Damn, you're right. Guess I'll have to finish this the not pretty way." He cracked his knuckles and walked up to the demon. 

Mizuki shook his head, sorting out everything he had just heard and started laughing. Inu-Yasha paused, a confused look on his face, and Mizuki quickly jumped up the slugged the half-angel across the face. Inu-Yasha was about to strike back out when Mizuki began laughing again, picking up his spear.

"So that explains the dirty fighting! Nice job mate, you almost had me there. If you were as stupid as everyone says you are, I'd be dead." When Inu-Yasha's ears flattened the kappa leaned against his staff, smiling disarmingly. "Hey, it was a compliment. Sort of."

"Who are you?" Sango asked the demon, who just grinned and waved a hand. "Not allowed to tell you, regulations and all, but hells! This is funny!" He was still grinning wildly, chuckling. "So who told ya to come here eh? What was the reason she gave you?"

"None of your business." Inu-Yasha said, getting up. "Now who the hell are you?"

Mizuki was still smiling, but more smugly now. "Not allowed to tell you but if you had any brains in that hollow head of yours you'd figure it out. So what she'd look like?"

"Eh?" Inu-Yasha was becoming quite lost by now.

Mizuki sighed. "Never mind. I'm pretty sure I know why you're here so it doesn't matter anyway. So this is her?" He looked at Kagome. "She's hotter than Kikyou, I'll give ya that. Kikyou was one damn cold bitch."

Inu-Yasha pulled Mizuki back by his spiked hair. "Are you friend or foe? You gonna let us through that fucking portal or are we going ourselves?"

"Hey, watch the coif." The kappa said, batting at the half-angel's claws. "Listen, I'm letting ya through but only because I'm helping a  friend not get in trouble. Now do us all a favor and at least hurt Naraku when he wipes the floor with ya, k?" He thumbed his nose and grinned. "Through that doorway by the stack of useless ciggs. Don't ask." He added. 

Inu-Yasha growled a faint 'thanks' and quickly led Kagome and the others into the alleyway where the portal was. Mizuki absently stuck another cigarette into his mouth on reflex as he wondered just what Sesshoumaru was planning to do with them. He chewed absently on the butt of the stick before realizing what he was doing. Swearing he took it out of his mouth, walked back into the now deserted alley and added it to the pile. A cold wind blew through and Mizuki grumbled, leaning back against the wall. If the end of the world was coming, it'd better come damn soon. He was hungry.

End Chapter 31

End book two

It's the end of book two! Two thirds of this story is finished and we only have 19 more chapters to go! I'm so sad!

MORE shoutouts:

**~Meineko~:** *blink* Stephy? Yay, Stephy! Damn you for your Jolt! I won't Jolt! Gimmie Jolt! And Vanilla Coke. Drinking that and staying up until 3am is bad. Makes you crazy. Then again, so does lack of sleep followed by too much coffee. Crazy, crazy. Stop crying! It might get sadder so stop crying! Hug Gir! Or… Marron! Play with Marron's pretty hair, there we go. And I did tell you about it, a long time ago but then… I dunno. Neko made me do it! It's all her fault! And no! Don't make me face the horror of Tennimon if I am late (who the hell's Tennimon?) Will I have to take my revenge out on you? And what does the 'G' stand for?

**Danielle:** Me go! Me rock! And yes, I do get told quite often by people that this is the best fic they've ever read. Well then, I guess I'll take your advice. W00t! I 0wnz j00 4ll! I am the greatest! I'm going to start my own CLAMP! I will keep up my stup[endous work! Yeah!

**Ronagu-chan:** Draw whatever you like, as long as Inu-Yasha isn't naked! But if you don't have imagination, then…. Uh… I dunno. I'm not a good producer! Actually, what you could do while I try to think of something for you to do is just take random scenes and doodle them! There we go! Or Shippo in an angel costume. Because I can't draw that.

**link no miko:** Okay, okay, I won't kill Shippo! Well, I can't promise anything but I'll try not to kill Shippo! Is that okay? And Dogma outtakes? *blinks* okay, sure, we'll go with that. I didn't know they could have outtakes in that movie. It had a script? 

And… um…. Okuro was in the centre of Tokyo because… he didn't read the letter and Kaede's stupid! There we go! That solves it… yeah… 

And no, that wasn't based on Rociel at all… *shifty eyes* I can't help it, I spent *counts on fingers* around five hours just downloading and reading AS manga! It was stuck in my head! And there's more? I'm going to be on the internet forever… damn dial-up. 

Yes. Kuggles.

Zelda OoA is Oracle of Ages when Ama gets lazy and types in acronyms. Kaze no Takuto is gold? It's gold! Hurrah, gold! You truly are obsessed with Link, aren't you? *patpat*  Can I see a piccie of the golden goodness? Please please please?

Poor random saleslady? Or do I want to know? And you found new prettiness in Gackt? Yes, he is pretty, isn't he? His voice does kick almighty ass. As soon as we move and I get high-speed internet BAM! My parents are going to hate me forever! Gimmi the link. Gimmi gimmi gimmi. Pretty, pretty Gackt. Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty. …I'll stop now.

Please don't hunt me down and hurt me. I don't like hurt.

And that's the next instalment for this week! Now I have to go and carefully plan out everything down a 't' so that the Third Strike and every single other storyline plot is dealt with. With only 19 more weeks to go it's a countdown to see if I'm really good enough to make a good ending. So no previews now, I'm terribly sorry, but previews for the rest of the chapters of GA goodness! Book two is finished! Now, onwards to Book three and to a new age! Duh-duhduh-dun!

~Ama

Quotackular: "Castle of Arrrrggghh? What the bloody hell's that?" "Maybe he died while writing this." "If he was dying he wouldn't have chipped 'arrrrrrgghh' into the rock!" "Well, maybe he was reciting."  ~Monty Python and the Holy Grail


	32. Chapter 32: Hell

Disclaimer: Go ahead, sue me. I DARE you.

And now for a another funfilled day in Guardian Angel. And wanna know what happens today? A stunning secret gets revealed! An old friend is in Hell! Sesshoumaru's really pretty!

Shoutotus:

**Leina, Fate, Lyndz, InuSaiyanPrincess:** Hurrah for my ultracool awesome writing! And can I be such a good author that I make it funny? Maybe next time I'll make a comedy. See: The three stooges! Staring Inu-Yasha!… Okay, that scares me. But maybe a Monty Python goodness one. Yes… yes… Inu-Yasha Monty Python. Help! I'm on a roll and I might do something I regret! Quick! To the distraction of television! *runs off* Oh wait, I guess I'd better finish the story so your lives will be complete. Fine. And yes, Naraku's already in Hell. Sorry luv. But I'm glad I cleared that up for you. I actually made the 'Rule of Threes' on the spot. Sugar is good. Now on with the Third Strike!

**ChocolateEclar**: That's okay, you're forgiven. Or you would be if I was a forgiving person! *shun* No, no, I kid. And I can't tell you what Kagura's planning to do, that ruins the point of suspense! Go look it up in the dictionary! Then you'll know why! And yes, that was probably the best fighting scene I ever wrote. Although doing it from two different perspectives at the same time hurt my brain….****

**Ditto:** Yes, _only_ 19 more chapters. In a 50-chapter book series, that's a firkin lot, okay? And that means that in 19 weeks it'll all be over. Gone. When will that be anyway? Five months? That's…  August. Which means I'll have been writing this story for over a year. *blink* woah. And actually, I haven't seen any of the English DVDs. I watched Chobits via download. So I can't help you. *gets arrested* Aw damn. Well, Chobits kicks the major robot ass! And I would love to see Black Chi against a mecha, I really would. I have too much time on my hands.

** inuficcrzy**: Yes, that was one of the few chapters I actually thought out. If your English teacher ever tells you that 'people don't just sit down and say I think I'm gong to write today and writing something without planning' well then they're wrong. Because that's what I did with this! Oh sure, it's planned now, but at the beginning it wasn't. And I personally think my first few chapters were the better ones. And no…. *shifts eyes* Mizuki's talking about… Kagome's half-sister, identical cousin Lina! And let's hope writer's block never does curse my brain, because with all the distractions I have to deal with now writer's block would be BAD. I also have a website to do, two doujinshis and a giant KuroNekoSama head to make by May. And I'm not just ambitious enough to try for an apocalypse, I'm stupid enough! I have no idea how I'm going to do this…

And now on with the story! May you all feel compulsive enough to buy me gifts:

**Chapter 32:**

**Hell**

The barren landscape had a cold feeling about it, lone and desolate, nothing like a Hell one would have imagined. The only presence of any fiery pits was the faint stench of sulphur that further lowered the appearance of the land, and smoke drifting up from the hard, empty ground through cracks that wove their way in a bizarre pattern. The air was stale, with no wind, but a mysterious and bone-chilling wailing noise that seemed everywhere set shivers down everyone's spines. 

Kagome wrapped her arms around her chest, trying to retain some warmth as the cold feeling caused her to shiver. She tried to conjure a warmer sweater, but nothing happened, not even a tingly feeling.  She closed her eyes and tried again but still nothing. Squeezing her eyes shut she concentrated as hard as she could until spots began to dance in front of her.

A hand went on her shoulder and she opened her eyes to look into Inu-Yasha's amber ones. She blinked before recognizing her guardian, who was giving her a quizzical look.

"Hey, is something wrong?" He asked. Kagome shook her head. 

"I'm just cold and I can't conjure anything up." She said. "It's not working. Maybe I'm tired."

Inu-Yasha shook his head, looking up at the grey landscape. "No, it's the atmosphere. This is Hell. Mortals can't use their powers here." He turned to Sango and Miroku. "Got that? Don't get rid of your weapons; once they're gone you can't bring 'em back. And you're gonna have to use that air rip of yours, monk."

Sango nodded as Shippo clenched his fist a few times. "And angel powers are weaker too." He said. "Dammit! That means the only one who can do anything is Inu-Yasha!"

Miroku looked at Shippo out of the corner of his eye. "Shippo, Inu-Yasha does most of the work anyway." The fox child just sort of smiled nervously and waved at Inu-Yasha, who was giving him a fierce look.

The half-angel snorted and turned back to the territory of the Fourth Realm. He crossed his arms and sniffed the air, making a face. He then protectively put a hand on Kagome's shoulder, moving her forward as he began to walk. "Come on, let's get going. I don't want to hang around this shit hole any longer than I have to."

The others nodded and began following Inu-Yasha through the deserted are. Sulphur pits bubbled in cracked pores in the ground and a few sickly skeletons of trees were warped in the are, looking like the movie set for a bad science fiction film. A few bones were scattered in some areas, bones that were unidentifiable. Kagome thought she sensed a bird at one point but looking up saw nothing. She then brought her eyes back to the earth, since the sky was even colder and more depressing than even the ground, with it's grey emptiness that seemed to go on forever. After a few moments of walking the ground seemed to become more packed down and the odd footprint could be identified every once in a while. A hill rose up and they began to climb it, the loose dirt and rocks giving the impression that the hill was man-made, or more specifically demon-made.

At the top of the hill the air turned colder and a slight hint of wind chilled them, as if warning them to go back. Shippo, sitting on Kirrara's back, tried to bury himself as deep into the other angel's fur as possible, while Kirrara bristled at something they couldn't sense.  They looked out from the top of the hill to the pit that seemed to sink beneath them, to the centre of the pit that was their destination, a stone building that was frightening and foreboding, giving none of them a single reason to want to visit. It was spikes and angles, with battlements of steel as flags holding the domain's symbol fluttered, probably with the aid of magic, in the dead air. There were two guards that were visible, each standing on either side of a protruding balcony, almost daring someone to ever try and invade. It made Kagome want to run back and hide in the mortal realm and she shivered. She didn't know how she was going to stand going there.

Sesshoumaru's castle. 

"Do they not _think_ we can see them?"

"Angels and humans from the smell 'o it." The second guard said, twitching his nose but not moving, still staring straight ahead. "Either Naraku's gettin' bold or that's the trespasser's doin'."

"You called?" Both guards visible reacted as the shadowy demon stepped out between them. "And yes, before you go and alert the general, those are m'Lord's guests he requested me to get." It's green eyes glinted humorously. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go alert the general. It'll be interesting to see how he greets them."

As the shadow demon departed both of the wolf demons glanced at each other. The first shrugged and they both resumed their stances, surveying the land, still as statues. 

"This job blows."

"You'd rather be fighting? Now shut up!" The second one hissed. 

"Well we didn't have to come here. It's all _his_ fault, dragging us here. I was perfectly happy where I was. But no, he has to come down to Hell. Look at me, I'm the prince of the wolf clan and I can do whatever I want because I think you guys are cowards." The first said in a high imitation voice.

"He doesn't sound like that."

"No shit. I was insulting him."

"Just shut up."

The first muttered something under his breath and tilted slightly so he could see out of the corner of his eye the curious, and still standing in plain sight he added mentally, group on the hill top. He wanted to see how the general met up with the threeblood.

Inu-Yasha growled suddenly, his ears perking forward and then flattening. He stanced himself, one hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt, the other clenched halfway into a fist, his arm stretched out to stop Kagome as he halted his descent down the hill. Kagome and the others looked at him curiously. 

"What is it Inu-Yasha?" Kagome asked as her guardian seemed focused on something close to the fortress. Shippo stood up from Kirrara's back, pointing suddenly. "Look, it's a twister!" he shouted.

Looking over Kagome realized the fox-kit was right, as a spiral of dust and wind from the land seemed to gather in a swift moving funnel that was coming straight for them. Inu-Yasha crouched, half-drawing his sword and pushing Kagome further back.

"Bouzo, look after her and if you grope her you die." Inu-Yasha ordered and warned. Miroku nodded, looking back at the twister.

Kagome couldn't get out of her head that there was something eerily familiar about the tornado heading their way. She could barely sense anything because her powers had been so diminished but she could just pick out a slight quiver of sense that not only felt demonic but also wild, slightly like Inu-Yasha and vaguely familiar…

She gasped. "Inu-Yasha! Stop!" She said, jumping forward before Miroku could hold her back. Inu-Yasha turned to glare at her. "What are you talking about?"

Kagome pointed at the twister, which was beginning to rise up the hill. "That's Kouga! Kouga!"

Inu-Yasha blinked, looked at Kagome and then the twister and back again. Trying to sort this out he drew his sword anyway. "Like that's going to stop me?" He asked, with the slight quirk of a smile. Kagome grabbed his shoulder, holding him back. "Inu-Yasha!" she said. Seeing she was serious he stopped and glared at the whirlwind, now being able to smell the wolf demon now that he was looking for the scent. 

The twister came closer before stopping still in front of them, sending a blast of cold air as it suddenly disappeared. The dust settled revealing the wolf prince Kouga, a slight grin on his face and his animal pelt clothing missing to be replaced by armour similar to the kappa demon at the gate to Hell. Kouga put his hands on his hips and looked at Inu-Yasha with an eyebrow raised. 

"Hey puppy, you actually came! Hells, I wouldn't believe you would." He looked over at Kagome. "And taking Kagome with you! What are you, stupid?"

Inu-Yasha bristled. "What was I supposed to do? Leave her there? In case you having noticed you fucking moron, there's more demons in the mortal realm than there are in Hell right now! She's a lot safer here, with me!"

"Oh yeah? I could protect her a lot better!" Kouga said, leaning towards Inu-Yasha in a position where Kagome should be able to see he was larger and stronger than the half-angel."

Inu-Yasha wrinkled his nose when he saw what Kouga was trying to do and stepped forward, blocking Kagome's view of the wolf demon. "Yeah, and no you couldn't!"

Kouga growled at the insult and tried to tower over his opponent. "Oh yeah?"

Inu-Yasha flattened his ears in annoyance. "YEAH!"

Kagome, meanwhile, had backed away from the warring testosterone, standing next to her sane and normal friends. Sango patted her shoulder sympathetically while Miroku seemed to be having one of his mysterious coughing fits. Shippo rolled his eyes as he was picked up by Kagome.

 "Don't worry Kagome-chan, I'm sure they'll stop soon." Sango said, trying to be encouraging.

Shippo snorted, saying what they were all thinking. "By the time the Third Strike's over, you mean."

The fox-angel's words struck a cord as Inu-Yasha turned around from one old argument to another. "How fucking times you I have to tell you it's not the Third Strike?" He growled. Shippo hid behind Kagome's shoulder and grinned meekly. "A million." He answered.

Kouga grinned. "What's the matter puppy, don't like the Third Strike idea? Don't worry, it ain't gonna be the end of the world." He patted Inu-Yasha on the head, earning a dark growl from the half-angel as Inu-Yasha pulled away.

Then deciding to ignore his rival, the wolf demon turned to Kagome and took her hand, bowing. "And Kagome, I'm sorry you had to suffer through Hell with this loser. Don't worry, let me escort you to Sesshoumaru's castle."

Kagome turned red under Kouga's words and Inu-Yasha's glare. "Uh… Thanks Kouga-kun."

Those seemed to be the magic words as Kouga jumped up again. "Great! And hey, Kagome, check these out!" He lifted one leg, peeling off the bandage wrapped around his ankle to reveal a tiny little shard stuck to his skin, a shard that sparkled with a faint pink aura. A sudden wave of dizziness passed over Kagome and she stumbled back. Kouga quickly re-wrapped his leg and caught the girl before her guardian could, offering a smug look at Inu-Yasha before turning his attention back to Kagome. "Hey, Kagome, you alright?" He asked with concern as he helped her stand up. 

"Kagome-sama, are you feeling alright?" Miroku asked, since experience had already taught him that Kagome's fainting spells always meant something bad. Kagome nodded as she righted herself, looking at Kouga with confusion. 

"Kouga-kun, where did you get those?" She asked. Kouga grinned. 

"Pulled 'em off of some demons that attacked the base, stinkin' of Naraku. The bastards were practically immortal until I figured out that these things had to do with their powers. So I ripped them out and put them on my legs to make me run faster." He looked quite pleased with himself while everyone else, excluding Kagome, looked confused. 

"What are they, Kagome-chan?" Sango asked. Kagome shook her head. 

"I… I'm not sure but it feels like the Shikon no Tama…" She began until realization hit Inu-Yasha and he swore. 

"Dammit, that's right! Naraku's got the Shikon and he's going to be using it to try and win this war." The half-angel growled, sheathing his sword. Now Kouga was looking bewildered. 

"The keyjewel?" He asked. Inu-Yasha and Shippo nodded. 

"And he's resurrected the Seven." The half-angel added with a mutter. Kouga frowned. 

"Shit." He said thoughtfully. "Well, I guess you're all gonna have to get back to the fortress now, before Sesshoumaru yells at me."

"You work for Sesshoumaru?" Shippo asked curiously, looking at Kouga's outfit. The wolf demon snorted. 

"Hells, it's not like I wanted to. I didn't have a choice, with this war going on and everything. He offered me the job, so I took it." He shrugged. "So I'm general of guarding the fort. Not too rough a job, since everyone's duking it up in the mortal realm. Well," He turned to Kagome, "I guess we should go now." He reached a hand out to Kagome.

Knowing Inu-Yasha's eyes were on her, Kagome gently declined. "Kouga, everyone's coming."

Kouga looked at Inu-Yasha and snorted. "Fine." He said. "I suppose I can't run at top speed with you anyway; probably make you faint and I'm not losing points to the puppy." He made at face at Inu-Yasha, who returned the favour with the one finger salute. Miroku and Sango rolled their eyes.

"Well, come on Kagome and her friends." Kouga said with a bow. He then turned and led them down the hill, looking terribly bored now that he couldn't run at his fastest with the help of the Shikon's power. He walked on one side of Kagome, chatting amiably about the battle strategies and the fights his team had won so far, naming off every figure of the battles he could think of. Kagome nodded politely, although she understood nothing the wolf demon said. 

Inu-Yasha was on the other side of his task, glaring daggers at Kouga, who ignored him completely. His ears kept flattening  as he looked from Kouga to Kagome and back. Hells, he thought he had been rid of the damn wolf but no, he had to join up with Inu-Yasha's fucking uncle's army, and guard the damned fortress no less! Fate must either hate him, or have a sick sense of humour to set this one up.

Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirrara walked behind the three, watching them with some slight amusement, mostly on Miroku's part. Kagome was nodding to everything Kouga said while the wolf demon babbled on about how many of Naraku's thugs he killed, while on the other side of Kagome Inu-Yasha looked like he was going to turn into a monster and rip Kouga's throat out. Meanwhile the fortress became larger and larger until finally they stood at the doors, which were made of some fortified iron and looked deeply menacing, with the symbol of the Fourth Realm engraved and painted with a red-like substance that no one wanted to ask about. Kouga went right up to the door and kicked it in the center, resonating a thick, booming sound. A few seconds passed as everyone waited, expected the doors to creak open. Instead Kouga went over to on the pillars that stood on either side of the doors and removed a stone.

He muttered to himself for a moment, then seemed to poke the mortar behind the stone, replacing the brick as the doors began to open. Miroku raised an eyebrow. "A giant castle that looks like something out of the movies that has an automated door? How… cliché."

Kouga shrugged. "Not my castle." Was his only reply. 

The courtyards were bare, with no signs of life, not even footprints in the sand. Kouga let out a whoop as he entered, leading everyone into the courtyard before the heavy doors closed with a resounding boom behind them, making Kagome jump. 

"Oi, Kouga!" A voice came from above. The group looked up to see one of Kouga's wolf-clan mates leaning over the battlements. "The boss wants ya to take them right to the meeting room and hop to it!"

"Right!" Kouga shouted back. Inu-Yasha wrinkled his nose as the guard disappeared from view. "Are wolves the only damn things left in this building?"

"No." Kouga said innocently. "Your uncle and his toad are here."

Inu-Yasha sighed and crossed his arms. Kouga grinned and turned back to Kagome. "Well then Kagome, let's go. I suppose the puppy does have to come, since it's him Sesshoumaru wants." Inu-Yasha was beginning to look more and more like he wanted to kill Kouga and Kagome nudged him in the side. The half-angel snorted and tried to look civil, instead earning a pair of giggles from behind, although Miroku and Sango were silent when he turned around. 

Kouga led them into the building and through a small and shadowy corridor, light by some torches. Shippo hopped over to Kagome's shoulder and blinked in awe and wonderment as the girl took the fox kit in her arms. Shippo pointed excitedly at a few wires and a small ball in the ceiling. 

"This place has cameras and everything! Kagome, look!" He said, nearly bouncing. "Sesshoumaru's loaded this place up to the max. I think the only thing holding the building up is the wiring system. This is so cool!"

"Shippo-chan, be quiet." Kagome shushed him. Shippo sat down and clamped his mouth shut but he still stared at the walls and ceilings, his tail quivering. 

Kouga led them up some stairs that were completely unlit, causing Kagome to stumble once or twice. Inu-Yasha held out his arm and let Kagome put a hand on it to steady herself. In the darkness where she couldn't see, Kouga and Inu-Yasha exchanged glare for grin.

"Inu-Yasha: 1. Kouga: 1." Miroku whispered and Sango shook her head and sighed. 

The stairs led to another darkened hallway, which Kouga led them through until they reached another pair of steel doors, also engraved and painted with the emblem of the Fourth Lord, although not quite as large as the outside doors. Kouga knocked on the door, the booming echoing through the hall, and after a moment the doors opened just a crack. 

Hanging from one of the doors to pull it open was a small, young girl with short brown hair, dressed in a simple yukata and wearing a helmet, chest plate and cape, all obvious castaways that were too big for the girl. She blinked up at them curiously, before turning around and patting deeper into the room. 

"A mortal? What the…" Kouga looked just as confused as the rest of them. Kagome recognized the little Rin and so did Inu-Yasha. The half-angel snorted; some things never changed. 

"Sesshoumaru-sama, Inu-inu's here!" The young girl called. Again Miroku stifled a giggle behind a cough. Kouga looked at the monk. 

"You should get that looked at." He said, earning another 'cough' from the mortal. 

A voice inside silenced them as Sesshoumaru walked up and opened the door completely. He looked different from when the group had last seen him, now dressed in his battle armour and one arm encased completely in a metal sheath. He looked formidable and, true to Kourga's word, grumpy. "So you did come. Good." The demon Lord said before turning to the girl by his side. "Rin, you may return to your room now. Go with Kouga." He said, motioning to the wolf demon as though he wasn't even worth looking at. Rin frowned but nodded and left the room, grabbing Kouga's hand and dragging him down the corridor. 

"Goodbye Kagome! Puppy, take care of her until I get back!" Kouga shouted back before disappearing. Inu-Yasha gave the finger to the darkness and turned to his uncle, who was looking at him as though he were completely dripping with mud. The demon Lord refrained from sighing and opened the doors. "Come in. You've been expected."

"You were expecting us?" Inu-Yasha asked nonchalantly as he followed Sesshoumaru into the room, staying protectively close to Kagome. "Who told you? Kaede?"

"No." Sesshoumaru said simply, sitting down. "I have a request, nephew." His gaze passed over the rest of the group, pausing on Kagome for a moment. Feeling self-conscious she ducked behind her guardian to block the older demon's view of her. Sesshoumaru gave a slight snort and picked up a cup of tea. 

"A request?" Inu-Yasha repeated, not taking the offered chair. "What is it? And if it's to kill myself and leave Tetsusaiga to you then…"

"Nothing of that sort." Sesshoumaru said irritably. "I, Sesshoumaru, do not make such barbaric requests. When I remove Tetsusaiga from your cold grasp I will do so only by taking your life myself. Any other way would be both unacceptable and an insult to my father, blind, weak and foolish that he was." He sipped his drink. "You were brought here by more your own ambitions to kill Naraku than by my request. That is what I must speak to you of."

"Request?" Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow. "You didn't request us."

Sesshoumaru continued as if he hadn't heard the statement. "The Fourth Domain is the closest  to the domain that Naraku has reputedly been hiding, as discovered by my sources. It is impassable territory, even for a demon lord such as I."

"So you're sending us out there instead." Miroku translated. 

The Fourth Lord nodded absently. "As many have already discovered, this Third Strike is a modern but near perfect re-enactment of the Second Strike." Kagome noticed Inu-Yasha didn't bring up his argument. "Therefore, logically, this ragtag group of yours should be able to defeat Naraku. If not, you will at least sufficiently weaken him and I, Sesshoumaru, shall do the rest."

Inu-Yasha snorted. "So how do we get to Naraku's?" He asked. 

His uncle looked at him as if he were an insect. "You must travel through the Unbidden lands, a territory surrounding Naraku's domain. Ironically that domain originally served as a death sentence, a kind of prison for demons. It became neglected and Naraku moved in." Sesshoumaru took another sip of his tea before continuing. He then pulled out a palm pilot and looked at it, pulling out the pen and tapping a few things before putting it away. "The Unbidden lands will no doubt kill you before you even get to Naraku's. That is why a portion of the remainder of my army shall join you when you are halfway through. And, of course, you shall get a guide."

A slight boom echoed through the room, coming from the doors. Sesshoumaru stood up and walked towards one of the few things in the castle not automated. "And that would be her now."

He opened the door and just moved out of the way to let the guide into the room before closing the doors again. The guide stopped and stared at the group, who had all frozen and stared back. The demon was dressed in a sand-coloured rob with a hood and a rod strapped around the back, along with a hook at the end of her tail and many earrings jangling on one pointed ear. 

Netsuna smiled meekly and waved. "Uh, hi guys."

Inu-Yasha's ears flattened. "What the hell are you doing here?" He growled. It was official: fate hated him. The cat demon just laughed nervously. "Sesshoumaru-sama told me to-."

"You could have gotten Kagome killed!" The half-angel snapped, grabbing Netsuna by the collar and shaking her. 

"Hey, hey!" Netsuna grabbed his hands, trying to free herself. "Hold on lover-boy, nobody's dying yet!" She squirmed but Inu-Yasha was relentless.

"What was the big idea, sending us into the center of the city?" He growled. "You knew it was a trap, didn't you?" He suddenly stopped shaking the cat and glared at his uncle. "Or was it you that sent the message? You bas-"

"Sit!" Kagome called out, interrupting Inu-Yasha as he fell to the floor. Sesshoumaru didn't even look at his nephew but instead at the girl, as Kagome's face turned red and she looked at the floor apologetically. "Sorry about that."

Sesshoumaru seemed to take the apology and nodded, then looking quizzically at Netsuna. "I gave no order that regarded the center of the city."

Now Netsuna was looking apologetic. "Sorry m'Lord. There must have been a mix-up, because the information I received regarded the center. I only said what I was told."

Sesshoumaru eyed the demon girl for a moment before sniffing. He looked thoughtful, but the indifferent look didn't change as he nodded towards his nephew. "Inu-Yasha, I have had this demon hired by one of my trusted associates and I trust you will not pull a stunt such as that again. Being a servant to a mortal is bad enough without having to rely on them to control your actions. Now," He turned to the rest of them. "This girl has a reputation of knowing the Unbidden lands and much of the area around here up to the Seventh Domain. She has been hired under such a reputation and I am certain she will do her best to live beyond it." Netsuna wilted under the demon Lord's harsh gaze. "No doubt Naraku will send countless minions after you, and no doubt at each of the twelve gates leading into the Unbidden lands he will have someone prepared for you. There is no other way to reach him unless you wait for this war to run it's course. And I, Sesshoumaru, am not patient. As soon as this war is won in my favour I will be seeking your life, dear nephew. You'd best hope all your debts are paid by then."

There was some brief silence as Inu-Yasha sat there, contemplating his fate and that of those who would follow him. Finally he snorted and stood up, staring his uncle square in the eye despite the height difference. "Fine, that's the route we'll take. Nothing Naraku throws at us will be strong enough anyway. And besides, dear uncle, when this whole shitload is over I'm coming straight back here to finish what my father couldn't and I'm going to rip out your heart and fucking enjoy when I do."

Sesshoumaru made no reply for a moment, turning and opening one of the doors. He then looked at his nephew. "When you reach the entrance of my fortress Jaken will be there to led you to the outskirts of my land. I trust you will return safely," he gave the barest hint of a smile, making his cold face even more frighteningly chilling. "for I look forward to our next meeting."

Inu-Yasha snorted and walked through the door.

End Chapter 32

***Important notice*** I have just gotten Macromedia Dreamweaver everybody! And do you know what that means? A website! Not a crappy one like the embarrassment that's up right now but a real website, with real pictures and the manga and links and explanations and more things to occupy my already full time! You know I love you. And so, since nothing's anything without it's fans, I'm thinking about putting up a fanart section. So if anyone has/wants to make fanart and has already given it to me or will give it to me, email it in whenever. If you've already sent it, send it in again since I may have lost it during one of the heavy load-everything-we-haven't-used-in-a-week-off-of-the-computer sessions.

More shoutouts:

**Ronagu-chan:** I LOVE Monty Python and the Holy Grail! its hilarious. We need more romance. I will forever be trying to figure out the connection in that sentence. But beside the point, romance will come soon, shortly, sooner then you think, or maybe never. But that's okay, since I do have another story in the works that is romance and not a war one. I can't help the way things turn out! And bring the pics in whenever you want, since I'll only start bugging you when the site v 2.0 is done (see above). And what's your manga about? Best of luck on it! Besides _Guardian Angel_ for me I also have one I'm trying to get published called _Death by Hammer_, which basically focuses on the clichés of anime. It's kinda like Excel Saga, except… there no Nabishin and mine has a plot. And you're a science math person while I'm an art and computer person (despite my technical skills of a lemur) History's okay, since we got to watch the Ten Commandments and English sucks. It has ruined my mind! I can't watch/read anime/manga anymore without bloody analyzing it! It almost made me scream when I was watching Spirited Away! And I can't afford to be kicked out of the theatre for screaming at the screen again…

**link no miko:** *accepts pats* Yay, I'm a good girl! There are advantages for certain things being stuck in your head at certain times. And you'll never find out what the secret is! *laughs maniacally* Actually, you'll find out in…. four chapters. I'm serious. Ouch. Ayeka was in chapter twelve, the festival chapter. She was the one that just appeared out of nowhere because I felt like it. She was originally supposed to die in that chapter but then I decided I don't want a 'death a chapter' theme, so she just appeared and left. And I noticed the one-chan thing. I fixed it. Thanks. And yes, twenty forms of mortal drugs, just like me! I wonder if angels and demons have drugs…

Durn me? You durn me for my good writing? That does it, I'm not writing anymore! I quit, if this is what I have to put up with! *turns to storm away but sees the angry, angry readers* *Cough* Heh… heh…. Kid?

Yes, I've been downloading the AS goodness! And my sister is hooked on it too! And I want more! More! And don't die, you'll miss the rest, with all the prettiness and the fantabulousness. And yes, you should have known OoA was Ages. And you call yourself a fan! And thanks for the pic of the golden goodness, I have basked in it's glory now. And I have played it! Li'l Link's so cute! And wanna know something else? Apparently in Final Fantasy origins, FF1&2 released on the PSone/PS2, in FF1 in Elfland there's a gravestone that reads: May Link rest in peace. Now that I have to see and confirm, but still, it's funny. 

And Gackt. Gackt, Gackt, Gackt. I just like saying it. I found a good site for info and stuff, as well as lyrics, piccys and downloads. However, I don't quite remember it at the moment. I know it's called Story, but the actual URL was odd and difficult to remember. ()! There we go, that was it. I am, however, on a quest. I must now go buy and play ad naseum FFVIII because someone has pointed it out that Squall looks like Gackt. And they're right. And I want the sexay picky of Gackt looking like Brad! *cries*

And Netsuna… Are your questions answered or have I merely brought on more? *evil grin*

Okay, I realize that Miroku, Shippo, Sango and Kirrara didn't really do much in this chapter and all in all it sucked. I'm sorry. Fighting next chapter, and of course drama. Check for it yourself in the preview:

Preview Chapter 33: Loss:

                _"Kagome, look out!" Inu-Yasha shouted, picking he up and jumping out of the way just as the demon landed where the girl had been standing a mere breath before. Inu-Yasha landed and carefully placed his task down, holding his sword at the ready. "Damn, there's a lot of them." He growled. "Kagome, stay here!" He ordered. "Shippo, watch her!" With those barks he jumped back down into the melee. _

_                "Dammit, we're both useless!" Shippo whined, watching the battle from the rock outcrop. _

_                Kagome suddenly caught some movement. "Sango-chan, look out!" She shouted down. The older girl whirled around just in time to slice one of the monstrous demons in half. She wave dup at Kagome. "Thanks Kagome-chan!"_

_                Kirrara snarled and began fighting with one of the larger tiger demons, nearly knocking Sango down. As she rolled out of the way another animal-like creature snapped it's jaws around Sango's arm. Sango yelled in pain and began attacking the demon back with her boomerang. Miroku saw the commotion and sealed up his hand, trying to reach the girl when suddenly another demon knocked him out of the way. _

                Another demon jumped upon Sango and another. Her boomerang was torn away from her and soon she disappeared in the mess, as Kagome and the others watched on in horror.

Damn. And Sango's my favourite character too, next to Sesshy. 

Anyways, hope that makes you hate me and want the next chapter. Come on people, tell me how much you love/hate me with the little blue button, okay?

~Ama

Quote of the week, courtesy of Ronagu-chan: "If Wal-Mart keeps lowering their prices, why isn't anything free yet?" Anything that has to do with Wal-Mart I automatically love. Like MacHall's 'Stock Monkeys' comic ()


	33. Chapter 33: Loss

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the stuff I stole! (you don't know where I live! You can't hold that against me!)

Hey everybody is everyone feeling just jiffy today? Great! I've had another dull, boring weekend but it's three weekends closer to when I move and five weekends closer to when I go to my Anime convention! Hurrah! W00t! And I'm passing math! That makes me happy. 

This chapter's a bit short, and for that I'm sorry and you can beat my dog for it *throws him to the crowd* I stuck as much stuff as I could in it but I'm suffering from a tad bit of writer's block, I've been busy and there's a certain amount of information I could put in to this chapter and once I got there there wasn't much else to do. I babbled as much as I could without getting boring, and I added in a tiny, slightly amusing paragraph with Jaken. I like bugging Jaken. Authoress powers rule. 

Shoutouts:

**Midori318, ayame:** wow midori318, reading that sentence in one breath eight times fast is craziness. I loved it ^_^. And I'm glad you loved the chapter. I did my best to keep it humorous and informative enough. I seem to have this small problem with boring chapters. And ayame, are you naming yourself after the great Ayame Souma, one of the most cracked-up and loveable men of anime-dom? If so, I love you. Neato frito's a good thing to use. I use it anyway…. Wait, that makes it stupid. Nevermind -_-* And please don't hurt yourself, I'm getting sued enough for putting nonsense in my disclaimers. I don't want your parents after me.

**ditto: **I'm gonna be sad too when this chapter's over. *sighs* but that's why I'm putting a now story up soon! I don't know what it'll be called, but I'm putting it up next Monday, along with the latest instalment of GA. Maybe you'll read it, maybe you won't. But it's also based after a dream (My muses need to communicate differently), like GA is, and the first chapter's taking me forever but it's almost done and I'm going to stop babbling now! And as for your question… my hesitation and the title of this chapter aren't too hopeful, are they? The Kouga vs Inu-Yasha is freakin' hard man. Kouga's nearly impossible to write and I don't know how I manage but if you like it I must be doing something right! And yes, Black Chi versus… say… EVA unit 1. Bring on the popcorn.

**reynamangga:** All the unanswered questions are killing you? Gomen! And no, the secret Kagura's talking about is something you won't get from reading previous chapters, but you should be able to get it if you've seen most of the TV series, although I say nothing. But don't get your knickers in a knot, since it's coming up in soon chapters. But as for your second question, well Shippo can answer that one! Read on to find out!

**ChocolateEclar:** That reply stun? Oh, I'm sorry. Here, have repayment in hugs and bishes! *hands over the bishes* Have fun! I'm so sorry! And yeah, the stairs part is my favourite part of Inu's and Kouga's quarrel. Those two are so funny, although I love the first episodes Kouga's in in the series. Silly little wolf-boy. I feel sorry for poor Kagome. Now if only I could have her problem…

**Chapter 33: **

**Loss**

The cold wind blew harshly through the barren landscape, nearly knocking the small, cloth-wrapped figure over. Only by digging his staff into the ground was he able to stay upright until the gust passed over. Shaking his head to clear it of the dust Jaken glared back at the hazy horizon, as if any land past his line of sight was at fault for his misery. Muttering to himself he tried to wrap his cloak tighter around himself as he trudged on to the faint form of the castle. Another gust of wind blew cold air through him, causing the demon to swear under his breath. He began to quicken his pace, knowing that this storm was only going to get worse. 

"Why Sesshoumaru-sama do you send your most trusted servant out in such horror merely to escort children?" He whined piteously to the emptiness that didn't reply back. "Oh for the days before the Second Strike when humans were our willing slaves and we were always well fed. Then that Outcast tries to make a world all for himself." He grumbled. "Damn them all."

As if in humorous reply a huge burst of air behind him sent Jaken flat on his face, his staff clattering a few feet ahead of him on the hard earth. The toad demon pushed himself up and scrambled forward to grab his staff as another strong gust pushed it across the land. Jaken stumbled until he caught up with his renegade stick and he grabbed it as if it were his last lifeline. The wind blew around him as if laughing and he glared all around him as he began to trek towards Sesshoumaru's fortress again.

A lone, shadowy figure on top of the hill watched Jaken's small form until it disappeared behind the thick dust storm that was picking up. The demon squinted at the fortress, seemingly unfazed by the cold wind, and then turned to look at the land behind him. 

"Fools." He smiled, vanishing into the dust and leaving the winds to howl.

"I spy with my little eye, something small and grey."

"A rock."

"Hmm, okay then…. I spy with my little eye, something medium-sized and brownish-black."

"Another rock."

"Hmm, well then how about…"

"How about I spy with my little eye, some demon who's not going to be spying much longer if she doesn't keep her mouth shut?"

Netsuna glared at Inu-Yasha, who was glaring back full force. "I'm just trying to pass the time until we get to the first gate." She said, flicking her tail indignantly. "It'll be another ten minutes or so until we get to it. It's not like there's anything else to do." 

Inu-Yasha just glared back at her, growling under his breath. Kagome nudged him in the arm and he looked at her with a near-pleading look. Kagome shook her head and the half-angel looked grumpy again as he turned forward. Netsuna looked triumphant and returned to her eye-spy game with Miroku. 

"Okay, okay, where was I? Oh, I spy with my little eye, something big and boring."

"Hell?"

"Wow, you're good."

Sango wasn't looking any happier as she walked just behind and beside Netsuna, Kirrara in her larger form and walking at her task's side. The brunette's eye were shadowed as she watched the cat demon and the monk, one hand on her boomerang. Shippo noticed this and tapped Kagome lightly.

"I don't think Inu-Yasha's gonna have a chance to kill Netsuna." The tiny foxchild whispered, pointing at Sango. Kagome followed his finger and smiled. "I don't think Sango-chan's going to go to that measure." She replied. Shippo shook his head. 

"If Miroku tries anything…" Shippo pulled a finger across his throat. "Kirrara agrees with me. I think Sango's gonna get violent if Miroku makes her jealous enough."

"Only because she cares about him and if I liked a lecherous playboy like Miroku then I'd probably get jealous too." Kagome mused. Shippo glanced out of the corner of his eyes at Inu-Yasha, but said nothing. 

Netsuna suddenly perked. "Oh! Oh! I spy with my little eye, something big, black and ominous!" She pointed in the distance at a large black arch, have crumbled and looking worse for wear, but true to Netsuna's word it looked quite ominous indeed. Inu-Yasha finally looked happy ever since he had entered Hell. 

"Great! Then let's go and get this damned thing over with!" He drew his sword and looked expectantly at the gate. "So what the hell are we supposed to be doing here?"

Netsuna looked at it thoughtfully. "Well, Naraku's logically supposed to attack us with demons or something, you know to either keep us out or weaken us to the point where Rin could kill us by the time we got to Naraku's. But…" The cat demon looked around, seeming disappointed and a bit confused. "It's completely and utterly dead around here."

"Keh." Inu-Yasha seemed disappointed too. "Well that's a waste. And we have to go through how many of these?"

"Twelve." Netsuna answered. "They're around two-three miles apart, so it shouldn't be that bad. Except the terrain gets worse and Naraku's bound to send at least _one_ group of demons at us."

"One's good enough!" Shippo quipped and Kagome smiled. "Not being here in the first place would be good enough, Shippo-chan." She said and the fox-kit nodded enthusiastically. 

"Well we can't all have what we want, now can we?" Inu-Yasha asked. He sheathed his sword and trudged on towards the gate. The rest of the group followed him as the black arch grew closer and closer. Suddenly a chill went through Kagome and she stopped dead. She knew what that meant. 

"Inu-Yasha, look out!" She shouted. The half-angel turned to her quizzically when his own senses picked up the incoming attack and he rolled out of the way just as a giant tiger-like demon crashed into the ground where he had been standing. Whipping out his sword Inu-Yasha slashed with all his strength and cut the demon clean in two, killing it instantly. 

"Well that wasn't too bad. That's all he has to throw at us?" He panted, wiping his sword off and putting it back. He looked expectantly at Kagome as she slowly shook her head. As if on cue another demon jumped out from behind the rocky outcrops surrounding the first gate, just missing Inu-Yasha. Sango got her boomerang ready as two more came growling out and Kirrara leaped forward to meet another one in midair. In less than a minute the quiet, lifeless land surrounding the fist gate had turned into a melee of snarling demons fighting against the small group. 

"Kagome, look out!" Inu-Yasha nearly tackled his task as he grabbed her and jumped, carrying her out of the way of a charging demon and taking her to safety. He landed her on top of the arch and set her down. A demon tried to climb up but slipped down. Making sure nothing to come up Inu-Yasha fixed the slight mess in his clothes and glared at the melee. "Shit, there's a fucking lot of them." He growled. "Kagome stay here and Shippo, watch her!" He barked at them before jumping back down, taking out two demons with one swing as he dropped his sword to fight with tooth and claw. 

Sango worked beside Kirrara as the girl knocked demons away with her large weapon and the feline angel clawed them, knocking them down by the bunches and keeping them away from her task's back. Sango's large swing arches didn't hold enough power to keep the creatures down so Sango began resorting to just knocking them down one at a time. Miroku was cornered by a group of them against the rock until he pulled out his secret weapon and uncovered the air rip in his hand, sucking up a few of the demons before some ran away and others tried to figure out how to get past the wind tunnel.

"Dammit, we're both useless!" Shippo whined as he watched from his perch on Kagome's shoulder. Kagome kept an eye out on her friends while also making sure nothing was trying to sneak up on her and Shippo. Suddenly some movement caught her eye. "Sango-chan, look out!" she called out. Sango turned to the sound of her voice, just in time to see the monstrous demon charge her, and ran her boomerang down it's throat, killing it. Sango pulled the weapon out and knocked another demon away. "That's Kagome-chan!" she called back, waving up. 

A tiger demon that was larger than the rest tackled Kirrara from the back, flipping the giant feline angel over and trying to get at her throat. Kirrara fought back, succeeding in knocking the demon over but it tackled her again just as quickly. As the two fought tooth, claw and nail they nearly rolled over Sango, causing the girl to jump out of the way quickly and stumble. Taking advantage of her brief moment of distraction a smaller, reptilian demon latched itself onto her arm, digging it's teeth in deep. Sango cried out in pain and began beating the demon with her boomerang, crushing it's skull. Another small demon attached to her other arm, biting her just at the wrist and causing her to drop her weapon. 

"Sango!" Kagome screamed in horror as two more demons tackled her, knocking her back into a rocky outcrop. Kirrara tried to reach her task but the larger demon she was fighting knocked her to the ground again, not allowing the feline angel to reach the ailing girl. 

Miroku saw the commotion and sealed his hand. "Sango, I'm coming!" He shouted, only to be knocked back by demons now that his wind tunnel shield was down. Inu-Yasha was also occupied with one of the larger demons and Netsuna was nowhere to be seen. 

Another demon and another tackled Sango, knocking her down to the ground, where she disappeared into the mess. Kagome tried to climb down the arch but Shippo grabbed her skirt. 

"Kagome, there's nothing you can do! If you go down there you'll get just killed!" He tried to reason. Kagome stared at where Sango had disappeared but nodded with defeat. She knew Shippo was right and she took the fox-kit into her arms as she tried to hold back the tears for her friend. 

Kirrara let out a fierce roar and sank her large fangs into the tiger demon's leg, ripping the limb clear off. As the demon faltered the giant feline angel was on it, ripping it to shreds in her anger. When she was satisfied the tiger was dead Kirrara turned to the crowd where Sango had vanished, ripping, clawing, tearing and biting her way through. Inu-Yasha had killed his opponent and Miroku was doing short work of the remaining demons, sucking them up into the vast nothingness in the hole in his hand. 

The demon numbers disappeared gradually, slowly, and the bodies of the dead demons turned to dust. In a few short moments the scuffle was over and there was nothing left but a few scattered bodies which were already beginning to disintegrate. Kirrara scratched at the hard ground and broke open a rock frantically in her search, nearly knocking the gate over. Inu-Yasha leaped up the arch to pick up his silent task and the fox angel, bringing them back down as Miroku sealed his air rip, exhausted. Kagome couldn't believe what was going on as she counted their shrunken numbers. Netsuna was there, leaning against the rock while holding a ripped cloth against the bleeding wound on her arm, watching with the rest of them as Kirrara finally accepted defeat and sit down, exhausted from her own wounds. She let out an anguished roar into the now silent eternal dusk of Hell.

The battle was over.

But Sango was gone. 

The demon leaned forward as he looked over the outcrop, watching in interest. Ha had watched the entire fight from that perspective, as the group had first gotten ambushed to now when they were cleaning their wounds. It had all gone over quickly and quite cleanly. And now they were short one. How sad. 

He watched for a bit longer as the girl broke down and her angel tried to comfort her, until the sappiness of it finally came close to making him sick. He stood up and dusted the black cloak he was wearing off. It was time to do a little round trip, since this little gang was going nowhere fast. After checking the position of the clouds he muttered a quick spell, bringing up a gust of wind to blow sand around his form. Inside the sand he vanished to journey. 

He crossed the desert of Hell quickly and easily enough, checking in on a few things here and there. His powers were unlimited in this domain and he was responsible for many, many things. But knowing that he had a time limit he stayed straighter on his course than he normally would. Within ten minutes or so he came to his destination, the dead volcano in the heart of the Unbidden lands. 

Shifting through the walls and shadows he made his way through the dishevelled territory and into the volcano itself, walking through the tunnels that had been drilled into it until he came to the center and the dead rendition of the ancient oriental castle that was home to his employer. 

Trespasser demons have no loyalties. They care not for money, spoils or power. They do what they please, when they please, the rumoured lost souls long dead powerful Lords not quite through with meddling. They were the creatures of nightmare told to children that never truly existed but in the darkest of legends. It was rare to find a trespasser; rarer to find one that would spare your life. They were opportunistic, doing exactly what they needed to in order to obtain what they wanted. 

A strange quirk indeed that both Naraku and Sesshoumaru would get trespassers to work for them. You could absolutely trust nothing of a trespasser and there was no guarantee that while you told it information it wasn't secretly sending the information to it's comrades across enemy lines telepathically. The only certain thing of trespassers were their eyes. While a trespasser could change their name, face, identity and loyalty in an instant, their eyes would always remain their particular colour. And although none have ever seen more than one trespasser, another rumour tells that no two of these demons had eyes alike. 

Kuro-michi opened the door and followed the shadows into Naraku's room, where he stood in the corner and waited for the outcast demon to acknowledge his presence. After a moment the demon wrapped in the bamboo cloth lifted his head slightly from the work he was doing. 

"Report for this Naraku?" he asked tensely. Kuro-michi bowed and relayed all the information he had seen. Naraku gave a small smile. 

"So all works according to my plans. Almost ironic how perfect it is." He lifted what he had been working on in his hand. "My attention is divided at the moment and I have other matters to attend to. Besides, a simple task such as this does not require my full attention." He handed the small wooden object to the trespasser demon. "This alone will not kill that infuriating threeblood, but it is a start."

Kuro-michi swiftly placed the doll inside his cloak. "And Kagura?" He added. 

"Ah yes, her." Naraku seemed to remember his mutinous servant.  She will undoubtedly fail, but whether she does or not, please tell her that I'm proud of her attempt before you kill her."

Kuro-michi bowed. "Yes m'Lord. Will there be anything else?"

"The boy." Naraku said absently, standing up to retrieve something from one end of the room. "Take him, he's crucial."

"Yes m'Lord." The trespasser demon bowed and vanished into the darkness to carry out his orders. Everything was working out step by step according to plan, in perfect order. It was only a matter of time now before all the pieces feel into place, and the true ideals were to be realized. Trespassers had their own agendas, that they moulded others around.

Miroku placed the last stone on top of the pyramid and made a small prayer. He picked up his staff and stood up, trying to get the dust off of his robes before giving up. Silently he turned and left the marker to join the rest of the group. "Shall we go then?" He asked, rather flatly. 

"Damn straight." Inu-Yasha nodded. "We're getting that Naraku back for this Miroku, don't worry. We'll do it for Sango. He's going too far."

Miroku gave a slight shrug and turned in the direction of the gate, walking towards it deeper into the Unbidden lands. Kirrara walked beside him, equally silent and equally mourning. Netsuna followed them wordlessly and Inu-Yasha, Kagome and Shippo after her. They walked for a moment when Kagome turned to Inu-Yasha.

"Sango-chan could still be alive." She said quietly. "There was no body, so we don't know…"

Inu-Yasha shook his head. "It's not that simple Kagome. You saw what happened to those demons when they died. All spirits vanish after they've been killed, dust to dust and all that crap."

"We don't know what happens to them afterwards." Shippo said. "When spirits die normally, the rumour is that they get reincarnated. But when they're killed before their afterlife is over, we have no idea what happens. Sango may get reincarnated, or she may have completely disappeared entirely." The fox kit shrugged. "We just have her memory now."

"She's alive." Kagome insisted, although she was having trouble believing her own words. "I just know. Sango-chan wouldn't die like that. She'd hate to."

"Yeah, if I gonna die I want to do it with a lot of flashy stuff." Inu-Yasha said with a slight grin. "Poor Sango. I'll get in some hits for her."

"Yeah, she'd have wanted it that way." Kagome agreed. They fell silent after that as they headed towards the rocky canyon and rough terrain where off in the distance they could see the tell-tale black of the second gate, leading them deeper into the Unbidden lands and closer to Naraku. 

End chapter 33

And thus ends another chapter again. Whew, writing all this sure takes it out of ya. And it was short and kinda sucked, I know, I'm sorry. But hopefully I won't have writer's block next week, so the next chapter will be better!

Oh, oh, oh! And big news! The first five pages of the doujinshi, along with the new website, will be out this Wednesday! Check it at the URL for my old website but except brand new coolness!

Shoutouts:

**Ronagu-chan:** Randomness is good. Long live the power of the ultimate randomness! All hail! And a clone gal sounds like quite an interesting plot indeed. I hope it works out better for you. And there's no rush for the pictures, so don't worry. I feel blessed that you've offered to help me and I'll take it whenever your ready. Don't worry. ^_^

**KevinEC:** Well, your thanks is precious enough for my story. *is humbled*  It's just with all the stuff coming out these days, it's my thing to bug people. I'm like the embodiment of mooching. It's kinda sad. And the banter worked nicely? That's wonderful! I feel so blessed now. *is blessed* And for Rin, she's just darling to right. Her and Sesshoumaru are my two favourites to write just because Rin's adorable and Sesshoumaru has sophisticated humour. And I love all the scenes in the TV show with them too. And then there's Jaken. Silly, silly Jaken. But if I could be anyone, I'd be Rin. And my doujinshi's coming up this Wed! I'm looking forward to it and I hope you are too!

**link no miko:** Yes, Sesshoumaru is really pretty. And so is Rociel, and Gackt, and Malik and I could go on and on and on and on and on…. And wolf demons… Kouga wil be in future chapters, so more time for fun! Yay fun! We love fun. Fun is great. Yes, I got one finger salute from somewhere else, but I love it. I say that instead of doing it because it confuses people. And confusion is a greater revenge. And no, I didn't change me name to Fate. There was just a capital there, that's all. A misspell. And I fixed it, along with the Third Strike/Third Strike thingy -_-* And did the little paragraph about the trespasser confuse you? And you getting more confuddled about your accusations? Eh? Eh? And I got that picky of Gackt looking like Squall, but I've never played FFVIII so I didn't know it was Squall. And about Link, some of my sister's friends have been saying that in Wind Waker Link's dead and you're playing with a _future_ Link. I'm looking into this. But I don't believe it. And the ranting is good, so don't worry about the ranting. I enjoy the ranting. It gives me something to read in the morning in class, and makes me happy. ^_^ I'd rant if I had the time.  And Sango… I'm sorry but it had to be done. I didn't want to but it did. Kill my dog.

And now, the preview! To leave you in MORE suspence!

Chapter 34: Bonds (yes, I realize the last preview said this chapter was Bonds, but I changed it, okay?)

                _Miroku leaned against the stone, holding his hand to the bleeding wound on his shoulder. This was so not his day, he though as he looked frantically around in the shadows. Separated from everyone and now being attacked by some strange demon who he didn't have a hope against. Trying to locate it he followed a hint of movement, only to lose it and become more confused. A small pebble fell to the ground, alerting him before he was knocked down roughly. His staff clattered away from him as his enemy rolled him onto his back and raised it's sword, before bringing it down for the final blow._

End preview. 

Now I know what you're all thinking. Just what is Ama doing, killing off everyone? What's wrong with her? Let's kill her! Now, now, before you do anything rash and hurt me, just wait until the next chapter to see what's going on. You may like it. You may hate it. You may send rabid goats after me. But whatever may happen, you'll just have to wait and see. 

~Ama

Ama's new fantabulous all-time favourite quotacular: Everything I learned I learned from killing smart people and eating their brains. –Apparently some T-shirts say that. I must get those T-shirts. Must. 


	34. Chapter 34: Bonds

Disclaimer: *evil laughter*

And it's another day in the world of Guardian Angel! I hate the Internet! My website's up and running, the everything works, except for the damn background! AGH! Anyways, if you wanna go check it out, the URL's  at my main page so if you wanna go check it out, go have a look-see! I dunno how often I'll be able to update it, considering I was in bed all day today due to exhaustion, but I'll do my best! *stand Excel-like* Il-Palazzo-sama!

Shoutouts:

**Moonbeam, thekiit, inuficcrzy, KevinEC:** Was that really so cool? Eee, thankies so much! I feel so blessed! Thankies, thankies, thankies! And you'll know what happens to Sango, so don't worry! And I'm making no promises, so read on about the fates of the rest! And you like how I manipulate the story-line, eh? Well, that's good. And thanks for the tips on the T-shirts! And rabid Jaken clones? *shudders* I don't even wanna think about that.

**Ayame:** *is hit by the multiple deaths* Aaagh! I've been assaulted by a cookie-deprived ninja! I'm sorry for getting your name mixed up, but I just bought Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven (it is Heaven by the way) and now I know who Ayame is and I'm sorry for insulting you, sorry , sorry, sorry! But you can't kill me! I'm invincible! And I wouldn't be able to write another chapter, so it'd be your loss. And I think the angry readers far outnumber you. Plus, I have my own army of ninjas, led by my cat Ninja! So feel the wrath of Ama, my adversary! Feel the wrath!

**Vold:** Wow, that was quite the long review and gave me quite the chuckles in homeroom, let me tell you. I'm glad you like my story enough to write close to your own story in that size of a review. I have no clue where the ideas for the angels and strikes and the existences and keys and all that came from, so don't ask but I've had fun taking the Inu-Yasha original sotry and twisting it around. And my fic is really that recommended? Awesome! I'm glad I got you into guardian angels. Mine's Sesshoumaru. ~_^ *evil laughter* As for the hotel room scene from the Starlight chapter, the answer to your question about why Kagome hasn't mentioned it again is because basically it's the same as in the manga/anime: she thinks that Inu-Yasha's still all for Kikyou and just sees her as Kagome, second-rate copy who just happens to be his task. She pretty much thinks that hotel night was a one-time thing and that it won't happen again. Plus, it's hard to think about stuff like that when the apocalypse is about to happen around you. And more fluff is coming soon, so don't worry!

**Chapter 34:**

** Bonds**

The harsh wind blew fiercely over the mortal realm, whipping the rain around in the horrible storm. Power was down, nothing was visible and the tall buildings were just barely holding themselves up. The world was in a silent chaos, in a storm where they could do nothing. The mortals had no idea what was waiting outside in the terrible storm, had no concept of the war over their lives. The homeless mortals had been the first to be devoured. Although the hard-pouring rain said nothing of the details, tides were in the favour of one side in the war. But neither outcome would be in favour to the many lives that unknowingly awaited their fate. 

Mizuki swore at his most recent cigarette, having gotten it to light for a brief moment before it faded out again. He was running out of fags again, and his lighter was starting to die. He squinted at the impenetrable wall of water, wondering if he should risk his life and title a third time to go get another pack from the abandoned convince store. He was beginning to reach a MacDonald's-size quantity of cigarettes in the pile behind him. Over a billion trashed; slight exaggeration, but the best comparison Mizuki could make as he tried to stay sane during this massively boring position. The outcome of the war had every bloody thing to do with what was going on with the threeblood and Naraku in Hell. Until then it was just a continuous matter of flipping a coin again and again. 

The tune of the rain changed behind him and he turned to the demon, trying to look dignified despite his drooping hair, slightly smeared tattoos and overall wetness that heralded both his fight with Inu-Yasha and his recent smoke runs. Yet Mizuki held his spear proudly and did his best to look the shadowy demon down. 

"Who the hell are you? And what the hell do you want?" He asked menacingly. The trespasser said nothing but watched him with it's red eyes, flickering dully in the poor light. Mizuki felt a bit nervous, trying to stare down a trespasser, but he did have an image to uphold and hey, it was something to do. He lifted his spear again. "Come on buddy, I may have until the end of the world but we both know it's gonna be soon, so I'd like an answer."

"Micky, I presume?" The trespasser said suddenly, almost as if a bit nervous of the three-pronged spear aimed right at it's heart, although the demon seemed perfectly calm. Mizuki raised an eyebrow. 

"Micky? The hell, 'ain't nobody who calls me that anymore, 'xcept…" He paused and grinned. "Eh, so you're a friend 'o hers, are ya? Well, it ain't everyday one gets to see two trespassers. Course I haven't seen the old girl around today, but you get what I'm saying. And call me Mizuki. I hate Micky."

The trespasser gave the barest notion of a smile, although all features were hidden in the dark shadows of it's cloak. "I have a message, Mizuki. For you to deliver."

"Deliver?" Mizuki raised an eyebrow again and made a sweeping motion to the alleyway he was guarding, which was becoming quite flooded. "I'm a bit busy for that, aren't I? Couldn't you go ask a soldier?"

The trespasser paused. "They're occupied. Besides, you do have mortal technology, don't you?"

Mizuki's face was blank for a moment and then he grinned. "Ay, I see what you mean. Alright, fine then trespasser, what do you want?"

"Watch your manners first, I could always just kill you and go about my business. I'm only doing this out of generosity, not need." The trespasser hissed. "And secondly, the threeblood's group has reached the first gate. And they've lost a member."

Mizuki looked up from the cigarette he was trying to light. "Already? Fuck, that was fast. I thought these guys were the reincarnations or whatever of the first group."

"Reincarnations, not clones." The trespasser said smugly. "And it's only the first gate."

"Yeah, good point." The general nodded in agreement, the damp cigarette still hanging out of his mouth. "Now remember everything's gotta go with the deal. You guys promised, you know."

"I promised no such thing." The demon hissed in return. 

Mizuki snorted. "You know what's funny, is that you're bitchier than the bitch trespasser. At least she's good enough to admit she's stupid. And a klutz, and a dork, and sexless, and absent-minded and pretty pathetic too…"

"My sister has many deterring disabilities." The trespasser muttered. Mizuki caught the remark and his eyes nearly bugged as he choked on his cigarette. 

"Your fucking what?" He blurted. "You mean you guys actually have parents? Shit! Older or younger?" When the trespasser's red eyes glared at him the kappa grinned and raised his hands. "Hey, hey, truce I wasn't hitting on her. So younger, got it." The eyes narrowed. "Okay, okay! So what were we talking about? Oh yeah, the plan." Mizuki turned serious again. "We got a deal from… from your sister about the details of the plan. If your in this with your sis you'd better keep with the promise too, got it dark and broody?"

The trespasser made no reply but then nodded. "Fine, if you wish to go that way. I have other rounds to make before I return to make my next report. Is there anything I should know before I depart?"

"Well, two." Mizuki held up two fingers. "One, as soon as everything's finished at the second gate come and see me, seeing how our little girl's busy right now. And secondly could you light this for me? Cause I've been nearly six hours without a fucking smoke and it's driving me crazy."

The shadowy demon almost rolled it's eyes but took the offered cigarette and lit it, handing it back to it's owner. "Only one, but the rain won't extinguish it."

Mizuki was ecstatic. "Hey, thanks a lot man. And oh, just to tell you, you have really pretty eyes."

The trespasser muttered something and disappeared. Chuckling to himself the kappa general rummaged through his pocket, pulling out a palm pilot. He quickly began typing in a message, inhaling his cigarette with happiness.

_Sesshoumaru-sama, everything's in place here. Don't have a bloody clue what's going on and all, damned rain from the angels, but nothing's tried to kill me yet or has even come near this place, 'xcept your stupid nephew so maybe that's a good sign. And the trespasser's buddy came for a visit. Seems our little girl has an older brother! Anyways, they've reached the first gate and, like promised, one of them's missing, presumed dead, giving them a greater will to fight, blah, blah, blah. Nothing else important but they're heading for the second gate and I've got a pretty good deal that I'll be getting an update every time they hit a gate. Lets hope little threeblood finishes wot his daddy started, eh? Oh, and give the shadowy one my wishes next time you see her. And tell her her brother's a dick._

_-Mizuki_

Sesshoumaru frowned as he read the email on his laptop and sighed inwardly, standing up. Immediately Jaken and Rin looked up curiously and simultaneously looked out the window to the harsh sandstorm that was battering the fortress. The demon Lord rubbed the bridge of his nose as he looked out at the near solid wall that disabled his gaze onto his lands. 

"What's wrong, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked, walking up to the demon Lord and trying to see over the windowsill. Sesshoumaru shook his head and absently patted the girl's messy hair. 

"Nothing Rin, everything's going exactly as planned."

Jaken's face lit up. "Ah, so they've reached the first gate already? I didn't know that whelp had it in him. Did he die?"

"No, one of the others has." Sesshoumaru said sharply. "The plan wouldn't work if he were dead, you fool." Jaken cringed under the harsh criticism. "Yes Sesshoumaru-sama, you're right."

"Who's dead, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked curiously. "Inu-inu and his friends?"

Sesshoumaru made no reply for a long moment until Rin tugged on his belt. "Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"It's nothing Rin." The Fourth Lord said in an attempt to silence the girl. Jaken hobbled up to the other side of the demon lord and tried to dignantly look out the window, but gave up and accept his fate as being so short. "So what happens now, Sesshoumaru-sama?" he croaked. 

"Now they reach the second gate," Sesshoumaru recited, as if seeing this all outside. "And they will either grow stronger or will fail miserably, leaving it up to I, Sesshoumaru, to defeat Naraku."

The area surrounding the second gate looked even more ominous than the first, with the dozen of jagged rocks, boulders and the rising cliff-face that everyone had the suspicious feeling they had to climb next. A wind was beginning to pick up, whistling eerily through the jagged décor and Kagome shivered.

Inu-Yasha stepped ahead of the group and sniffed the air warily, the wind whipping his hair around and blasting him with sand particles as he jumped above the labyrinth of rocks. Turning his ears to catch in all sounds, he finally nodded and jumped back down. 

"Couldn't see, smell or hear anything except rocks, dust and wind, so I think we're safe." He glared at the cliff. "I'm guessing Naraku will probably attack us when we're halfway up the mountain. Kirrara, do you think you could carry Kagome and Shippo, keep them away from the cliff while we're climbing it?"

Kirrara nodded, giving a deep grumble and Kagome obediently climbed onto the feline angel's furry back, bringing Shippo with her. The group then began making their way through the maze of rocks to the cliff to continue their journey.

Kagome was the first to sense their follower, feeling a strange flicker of aura from behind them. When she turned to look she saw nothing and curiously glanced around, before turning back and shrugging. It felt too human to be a demonic attacker anyway. 

Then she remembered the Shichinin-tai, the ones who had badly attacked Inu-Yasha. Weren't they pure human? Wouldn't that mean that Naraku could be using them for this very purpose, because then she and Inu-Yasha wouldn't be able to pick them up as easily? And there was still Kikyou, who Kagome _knew_ was after the younger girl's blood. 

Kagome looked warily behind again but still saw nothing. Sensing his task's nervousness Inu-Yasha, who was walking beside Kirrara, looked at Kagome curiously as she scanned the area behind him. Glancing back, and seeing nothing, the half-angel worriedly touched Kagome's leg to get her attention. Kagome snapped back to face him, emitting a squeak in shock before she realized what was going on and relaxed with relief, if not slight embarrassment. 

Normally Inu-Yasha would have teased Kagome about the noise (after all he had often pushed things over or done startling things when she was alive just to hear the noise and laugh at the fact that she couldn't do anything about it because she didn't know he existed yet) but in a serious situation like this one it was no time for teasing. Instead he flattened his ears. "What's wrong?"

Kagome bit her lip. "I just thought I sensed something, that's all. But I'm probably just nervous."

"Better be a bit careful then just walking through here without a care in the world." Her guardian angel said seriously. "Tell me if you sense it again." When Kagome nodded her tried a grin. "And hey, cheer up. We'll beat Naraku's ass soon and then we'll just get back to the way everything used to be, okay?"

Kagome nodded slowly again. "Um, Inu-Yasha?"

"Yeah?"

"It's in front of us now."

Inu-Yasha lost his carefree attitude and his eyes narrowed. He quickly jumped up to one of the rocks and looked around. "Miroku, Kirrara, cat! We got company!"

The other three looked up and immediately got in ready positions, preparing for the attack. Kagome sensed five, no more like ten of them and she saw one shadow jump right across two boulders. Kirrara quickly jumped into the air where'd she could see their assailants easier. Shippo jumped off of Kagome's shoulder and grabbed a fistful of Kirrara's fur. 

"Kirrara, we have to get out of here!" He shouted. The angel snarled in agreement and began flying towards the cliff as the others met with the demons. 

Inu-Yasha began fighting off three at a time, cleaving through one and trying to survive the other two while using Tetsusaiga, not a weapon for close combat. Netsuna had five on her tail as she zipped through the rocks at a speed even faster than the shadowy demons, until she lost them. As the group of ninja-like attackers quickly made plans to separate to find her, the cat demon was in the midst of them, knocking three over and breaking a fourth one's neck. She quickly jumped on top of a rock to avoid the fifth's claws and hissed. 

"How d'ya like that, eh assholes?" She growled, her green eyes flashing maliciously. "Hey dog, behind you!" 

Inu-Yasha heeded the warning and ducked, as one of the black demons tackled another, giving the half-angel less problems. "Hey cat, I can take care of myself!" He shouted back to the hired guide before turning around to finish off the job with his signature move of the legendary Tetsusaiga.

 Netsuna gave the irate dog-angel the middle finger before she got tackled by her own adversaries that she had been ignoring. As it dug it's claws in her shoulder Netsuna bit its wrist hard enough to feel the bones breaking. The other demons she had stunned tackled her but she smashed one's back open against a sharp edge of a rock outcrop and managed to get another off by flipping. 

Unfortunately the move unbalanced her and she toppled over, giving the other two demons fair game. She managed to wind one with a powerful kick right in the solar plexis and began wrestling with the other, as they both tried to break each other's necks. Netsuna managed to push her opponent against the rock when she weakened her grip. Thinking it had won the demon pushed forward, only to meet the metal edge tip of Netsuna's tail end right in the stomach. In the five seconds of shock it took for the demon to register, Netsuna snapped the demon's neck and stabbed him a few more times with her tail, just for good measure. 

Brushing off her hands expertly she turned around only to face the last demon she had forgotten about, holding a huge rock above it's head to crush her skull with. Before she had time to react the demon suddenly collapsed, bringing into sight Inu-Yasha, who had just finished a down stroke that had cut the black demon cleanly in half. He sheathed his sword and Netsuna grinned.

"So the puppy can take care of himself." The cat demon said with amused sarcasm. In the bat of an eye Tetsusaiga was out again and the tip was at Netsuna's throat, not even giving her enough room to gulp for fear of slicing her neck. 

"Just because you're recommended doesn't mean I have to like you." Inu-Yasha growled. "Remember that." As quick as he had brought it out the half-angel returned his sword to it's scabbard and jumped up onto a rock to meet Kagome and Kirrara as the feline angel landed roughly on one of the rocks. As Inu-Yasha helped Kagome off the girl looked around curiously. 

She then looked at her guardian angel, worry on her face. "Where's Miroku?"

Miroku leaned again the giant boulder, one hand applying pressure to his shoulder as blood trickled from the deep wound. This was very, very much not his day, he thought as she tried to catch his breath, looking around for his assailant. Separated, weakened and now fighting a demon he couldn't even see, much less defend himself against. 

He didn't even know where he was, except that he was somewhere near the giant cliff. He could see a few black stones that stood out from the regular browny-gray, indications that he was near the second gate. That didn't really do him any good, considering the others could be anywhere. They'd probably spend a bunch of time looking for him but they'd never find him if he didn't get out of this alive and then they wouldn't be able to reach Naraku in time…

The end of the world and it's all my fault. Such a lovely thing to realize moments before your death. 

A pebble suddenly rolled and clattered down some of the piled boulders, alerting the dead monk. He spun around to meet the shadowy demon's sword with his staff, trying to brace himself against his opponents full weight and momentum with only one arm, since the other was close to useless now. 

He managed to tip his staff, pushing the demon off balance and sending it toppling to the ground. It rolled and landed on it's feet, pushing itself up to charge Miroku again. He blocked it's sword thrusts with his staff but it was pressing against him fast and hard and the pain in his shoulder, not to mention he was only human and not this freakin' fast in the first place, were slowing him down and soon the demon was getting nicks and cuts in, drawing more blood. Then the demon was gone, again, taunting him. 

Miroku was really, really starting to hate demons. 

His shoulder had stopped most of it's bleeding but now his stomach, arms and cheek had nice little cuts, all small and thin enough to hurt like a goddam bitch of a paper cut. Miroku winced as he caught his breath, trying to spot the demon in the shadows but unable to lock in on it fast enough. He tried to keep his back against the rock when suddenly it was in front of him. Trying to meet it in battle Miroku stumbled when the demon suddenly disappeared; then an elbow to Miroku's neck knocked him to the ground.

The demon dug it's foot under Miroku, flipping him over on his back and knocking the monk's staff away, sending it clattering over the hard ground. The demon took it's sword and stood over Miroku, as the monk waited grimly for his death. The demon was standing on the monk's cursed hand, to make sure he didn't use the air rip. It was all over. Miroku's opponent raised it's sword slowly, almost deliberately, then brought it down for the final blow. 

And stopped. 

Miroku had both his eyes closed squeezed shut, waiting for his death. When nothing came he at first thought he was dead, but the throbbing pain in his shoulder, side and hand told him otherwise. Curious beyond all sense of the word, Miroku opened one eye a crack and then both in disbelief at what he saw. 

The assailant was standing over him, the sword a breath's away from his heart, the blade shaking in the other's hand. The demon clenched the sword tightly, trying to stop it's shaking, but Miroku wasn't stupid and could see something was wrong. 

"I can't do it…" The assassin muttered under it's breath, almost heartbreakingly. "I can't… I can't… I can't!" The sword slammed down, inches from Miroku's ear as the demon collapsed to it's knees, head in it's hands. Confused by the demon's behaviour, not to mention the fact at it was still on him and wasn't exactly a light demon, Miroku did his best to sit up, bewilderment written all over him. "Just what…" He trailed off, frozen.

The demon had taken off it's face mask and was now looking at him directly. Miroku opened his mouth a few times but nothing came out. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it and was trying to figure out if he was the luckiest or unluckiest ghost around. 

"Sa… Sango?" He stammered. He didn't know what was stranger: that Sango tried to kill him or that she was now sitting on his lap. As happy as he was at this moment, Miroku wasn't just yet going to forget the little 'killing' part. 

"Miroku, I'm so sorry!" Sango sobbed, putting her face in her hands again, her body shaking. Deciding now to forgive the killing part Miroku sat up and put his arms around Sango, drawing her close as she sobbed into his robes. "I didn't want to, I really didn't!" She cried. "But… he… there…"

"Trying starting at the start." Miroku said, desperately trying to focus past the fact that Sango was about as close to him as possible while still wearing clothing. Sango nodded and took a deep breath, trying to stop her tears. 

"During the fight at the first gate I got swarmed by demons." She explained. "And then I blacked out, so I don't remember how I left the area. But I woke up here and…" She trailed off as she fought back the tears again. "Kohaku was there."

Miroku cringed, remembering Sango's mysteriously resurrected younger brother that had nearly killed him, Sango and Kirrara back at Sango's hometown. Sango noticed his reaction and relapsed into silence until Miroku nudged her to continue. 

"Naraku was there too." She said, looking at him for another reaction. Miroku frowned. "What did he look like?"

"A taxidermist's nightmare, that's what." Sango almost snorted. "I couldn't see any of him except his bottom jaw, which looked human enough, but he was all wrapped up in fur and had a baboon skull covering his head and face. He introduced himself, that's how I knew who it was."

"The first thing he did was have Kohaku cut my boomerang in half. Then he told me that he was going to do the same thing to me and all of you.

"I swore at him a bit but I couldn't do anything because I was tied to the gate. So Naraku," Sango said the name with bitterness, "just laughed like the whole thing was a joke and then made Kohaku cut his own pinky off."

Sango began trembling and she was obviously putting in a lot of effort not to break down. "Naraku told me that Kohaku was his willing slave because he held my brother's soul in a cursed item, a stone shaped like a human heart. He showed it to me and then promised me that I could get my brother's soul back if I only did one thing; I killed you."

It was too much of the poor girl and she broke down again, sobbing into her hands. Miroku pulled her closer and stroked her hair. "I didn't want to do it, I really didn't." She sobbed. "But Kohaku was just standing there, bleeding like it was nothing. I figured that after I killed you and freed my brother's soul I'd kill myself for you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself after that; I care for you too much."

Miroku blinked. "Really?" he said, pulling Sango away, just a bit. 

The girl blushed and looked away. "Well… I…"

Miroku smiled. "Come on, Kagome and the others are probably looking for me. Aren't they going to be glad!" He winced as he stood up and Sango's face reflected her concern. 

"Are you alright? I didn't hurt you too badly, did I?" she asked, helped him stand and retrieving his staff. Miroku grinned and patted his chest. "Takes more than that to hurt me. Besides Sango, I've been with you long enough that I barely feel your blows anyway."

Sango's eyes narrowed. "Don't push it Miro-Houshi-sama." She caught hers. Miroku smiled.

"Kami's sake Sango, I'm not an old man. Call me Miroku." He took a step forward and winced. "Although I may need a bit of help walking for a while."

Sango immediately put the monk's arm of her shoulder to help him stand, looking at him worriedly. "Is that better now?" She asked. The monk made no reply and Sango's face suddenly reddened as she felt his arm reach a bit more downward. She slapped him as the monk laughed. "Alright, alright, no more funny business!" Miroku promised. "But I really could use your help."

Sango face was still red but she obliged. "Fine then Houshi-sama." Miroku gave her a look and she frowned at him. "Miroku."

The monk smiled. "Better."

Kuro-michi watched the couple make their way through the rocks, directly to where the others were making their way, so there was no mistake they'd meet each other. Noting that the mood seemed lighter now the trespasser demon could only shake his head. 

"Fools." He said, from his perch on the cliff. "You have no idea what's coming, do you? These weren't even the first trials you'll have to face. Every single one of you is a time bomb, ticking away. The exterminator was just a little preview. You may not even survive the detonation of the first of you, if this experience doesn't harden you fast enough."

End Chapter 34

**ChocolateEclar:** Well, a good vocabulary is stupendiforous to have, that's what I say! And hot guys fighting over you, now wouldn't we all love that? But Inu-inu's a bit of a moron when it comes to dead brood vs modern-school girl, so I guess we have to forgive him for that. But still, Kikyou's made of DIRT. And he kissed her! Ew. 

**link no miko: **I have the strange feeling I should be running for my life now. Well, Sango's back, Miroku alive and I gave you your S/M moment! Are you happy? Are you satisfied? Are you still going to kill me? I laughed at your comment about Shippo, but he's still alive too, so now killing the little fox-boy, okay? Truce? And come on, the quote's funny! Just like my stupid typos! Ha ha…. Heh. *hangs head* You read them over and over and yet still don't pick out the stupid and obvious ones. Well, if they make you laugh all the better. And still shot down by your ideas of the trespassers? Or did Micky's conversation with the one in this chapter further confuse you? I'm so evil. And all I saw of FF8 was the opening sequence, which I didn't like since I saw an X video done to that music which was drop dead gorgeous except now I can't find it and it makes me angry. But I did find Gackt music. Oh the downloading. Between AS, HunterXHunter and Gackt music, my poor little computer's gonna have a breakdown. Ah well, it's old anyway.

**Ronagu-chan:** Yes, rabid goats. And The URL has been given, so now I will away, to further download and work on my site. And I tried your link-up too late and now it won't work. *hangs head* I'm sorry.

And no preview tonight! Sorry but I have a ton of homework to cram! I love you all very much, so I'll give you a sentence!

Ultra brief preview of Chapter 35: Fang

                _"Oh shit." Sesshoumaru muttered, staring out at the bleakness of hell. _

End ultra brief preview

Now what in the world would make our Sesshy say something so uncouth? You'll have to wait until next week to find out!

~Ama

Quotacular: When I'm finished eating my vegetables, what do I do with their wheelchairs? – again, the great t-shirts.


	35. Chapter 35: Fang

Disclaimer: I own the story of Guardian Angel and my characters, but not the Inu-Yasha influences!

Gah! The world's out to get me this week. Alright, this is the THIRD time I'm posting this. If you can read this, good. If not, I'm going to go and kill my neighbours. You didn't read that.

Shoutouts:

**Unknown: **How did I ever create such a complex story? My muse made it up and I just sort of went along. When I started writing this story I didn't really have any plans for it, and then the story just came along in itself. I guess that's how those things work. *shrug* It's my secret to success. And I need to put in evil plot twists or else there'd be no good story! It's a adventure! With suspense! Yeah, and I brought Sango back because I knew the S/M fans were going to rip me to tiny pieces and that's a horrible way to die. Besides, kept you reading, ne? And I'll bring in as much fluff as I can!

**Tsukinoko**: Hanakimi? What, pray tell, is that? I have never heard of this Hanakimi, but if you're asking there must be some evidence of it in my story. I must go look see.

**Ayame:** You don't read my story?! What! How could you say such a thing? So you're just reviewing this to annoy and try to kill me! Or was that a slip of the type? Because if you meant that, I have many hordes of chibi ninjas at my beck and call that will wreck vengeance upon you! I'll teach you for attacking the great Ama! Hiya!

**Vold: **Mizuki modeled after someone? No, probably not. If he were modeled after anyone, he'd be modeled after my friend Neko, if she were a chain-smoking perverted kappa. He's just a comic relief character who's quick, fun and easy to write. And if he makes you laugh, good! Sorry I took so long to update *kicks computer*

**Reynamanga:** Well, Sango's back to life and I hope you're all happy now. Knickers in a twist is a British expression. Long live the brits.

**Chapter 35: **

**Fang**

"Hmm? They're coming already?" The angel looked curiously at his visitor, a slight smile on his handsome face. "Pretty quick for a gang of hoodlums, aren't they?"

"They're battling at the third gate as we speak." Kuro-michi said, standing on the other side of the cracked arch that made the fourth gate. "No doubt they'll defeat the guard there simply enough. Their strength seems to have returned with their member."

The angel snorted, sitting comfortable on his side of the arch. "Naraku made a bit of a mess there, didn't he? Taking a member away, only to give her back? Rather pointless and a waste of his time."

"Not really." Kuro-michi disagreed. "The girl is now shaken up, knowing her brother is here and that Naraku has complete control of her. And the group now trust her less, knowing she would kill so easily. Plus," he added, "she has lost her weapon."

"She can still fight though, and not bad for a puny human at such a young age." The angel mused. He smiled and his shoulders shook before he burst out laughing. "And these are the ones I am to fight? You must be joking me. Facing only a few lesser, brainless demons and then making me, Hato-sama, fight them when they are tired an worn? A bit of a joke, is it not?" He chuckled, looking at Kuro-michi sideways.

The trespasser was not smiling. "Either you underestimate them or I underestimate you, Hatonomaboroshi. Do not let the fact that they are so small or insignificant faze you. Remember their past, after all."

Hato was smiling still, but coldly now. "Their pasts of their former lives. They are shadows, not duplicates of the past so-called 'heroes' of the Second Strike. Who they were does not concern me to who they are now." He stretched casually. "Even an army of a hundred mortal and angel children would not be able to stop one such as I."

"Be as it may, no screwing up." Kuro-michi said tersely. "Naraku may have done well to choose you after all, but remember your place. And work well with your companions when they come."

Hato paused in his stretching and raised an eyebrow. "Companions?" he echoed. 

"Naraku has ordered that Gankotsu be with you when the time comes." The trespasser said matter-of-factly. Hato frowned and got into a thinking position, cross-legged with one elbow resting on his knee, propping his head up.

"Gankotsu, Gankotsu, kotsu…." He repeated muttering. "Kotsu… I know that from somewhere…"

"The Shichinin-tai whom Naraku has resurrected." Kuro-michi muttered. Hato's eyes light up. 

"Ah, yes! Them!" He smiled again. "A third time's a bit much, don't you think? Can't teach an old dog new tricks."

"When he gets here, do try to not kill him, since Naraku needs him for later." Kuro-michi stated flatly, shrinking a bit when a harsh wind whipped through, nearly knocking him over. Hato didn't move even as the wind bit as his clothes and braided hair. Instead he thought for a minute and looked to the east before chuckling again. 

"Alright then trespasser, I'll play fair. Naraku doesn't trust me one bit, eh?" He stretched out to put his hands behind his head, as if to show how little he cared of the whole situation. "Well then, I can agree with that, for now. How long until the ragtag little bunch of wannabes arrive?" 

Kuro-michi looked out silently to the distance for a moment. "Twenty minutes. They're still fighting the oni guards."

The angel snorted. "And I'm to be afraid of these ones? Well, go get this Gankotsu character and bring him here. If the fun starts before he comes, he's left out, understand?"

Kuro-michi silently wished for a very slow death for the angel. "Understood." He said, fading out until he disappeared in a gushing blow of wind. Hato watched the spot where the trespasser had stood for a moment and then got into a more relaxed position, watching the distance where his adversaries were to arrive from. 

Another wind, less violent passed through and ruffled the black clothing and golden hair of the angel, causing him to duck his head so he wouldn't get sand in his face. He smiled at his shadow. He liked the way this new robe worked for him. That stupid white one he had worn before just gave him the creeps, and it always made his hair to dull and eyes to obvious. This new black one accented both his golden hair and dark red eyes to a perfection, and his new dark grey wings suited it nicely as well. The black cloak had absolutely nothing to do with his abandonment of Heaven, although his grey wings certainly did. Not to matter, for once the world was one entire existence again it wouldn't matter who was angel, mortal or human. Because he, Hatonomaboroshi, would make them all his subjects. Naraku had good reason not to trust the treacherous angel.

Tilting his head slightly to catch some noise, the angel glanced up and looked over to the east again. "Well, well, what's this?" He called out. The demon stepped out of the shadows once she realized she had been discovered. Hato smiled, remembering this female servant of Naraku's. She had been missing for some time and judging by her sulking around she was obviously planning something mutinous.

Perfect.

Kagura rode her feather to the top of the gate where Hato was sitting, a frown on her face. Hato smiled. 

"Well mistress of wind, what brings you here? A request for something?" His eyes glinted dangerously. "Or is trying to get yourself killed a new hobby these days."

Kagura clenched her teeth. "If you must know, it is a request of some kind."

Hato's eyes lit up, hoping it'd be one of the impossible ones where he could end up screwing both Kagura and Naraku over. "Oh really? Of what sort?"

"The threeblood." Kagura said, motioning to the general direction of the nearly non-visible third gate. "I don't want you to kill him."

"Why not?" Hato was thoroughly enjoying himself. "After all, those are my direct orders."

"Because there's something else we'd like to do to him." A voice behind Hato made him nearly fall of his perch as he turned to see the undead Guardian Kikyou. She smiled coldly, enough to scare even Hato. "Hello Hato. Miss me?"

Hato quickly recovered himself. "So the rumours are true. You're alive." He noted. 

"Brilliant observation." Kagura said sarcastically. Hato was beginning to wonder if he should be nice to Naraku and just kill the wind demon now. Instead he turned to Kikyou. "Well, what is it you'd have me do?"

Kikyou smile turned icy. "Oh, something that will having him begging for death. Kagura, care to explain?"

"KYAAAAA!!!!" Shippo screamed and was picked up before the giant fist could turn him into fox jam. Inu-Yasha brought the fox child to his face and glared at him. "Shippo you idiot, I told you to stay out of this!" He practically threw the foxkit to Kagome. "Kagome, hold him and don't let him go this time!" he shouted before avoiding a blow. 

"Do I really have a choice?" Kagome asked Sango as she righted the stunned Shippo and waited for him to recover as the others went on to killing the last of the three oni guards. 

"That's it Miroku, just keep him right there!" Inu-Yasha shouted as he jumped up a pile of rocks, drawing his sword. Miroku winced as he braced himself against the tug of his air rip as it tried to suck into the demon that was too large and was dragging the dead monk forward instead.

Calculating for about a second, Inu-Yasha jumped right into the air, caught in a piece of Miroku's blast which quickly sucked him forward.

"What the hell is he doing, trying to get himself killed?" Netsuna asked as she watched.

Inu-Yasha instead used the momentum of the air rip as a driving force, as he swung his sword so hard it cut clean through the oni's neck and sent the half-angel spinning as Miroku covered his head and ducked out of the way of the wildly swinging blade of Tetsusaiga. Landing on the ground Inu-Yasha righted himself and grinned. 

"Hells that was fun!" he said, kissing the hilt of Tetsusaiga dramatically. "I love this sword!" He transformed it and sheathed it, kicking the oni's body as it quickly dissolved. 

"Nice work doggy, but try to not be so reckless next time." Netsuna said. 

"Well, if the next demon's a giant ball of yarn, I'll let you have a go, alright?" Inu-Yasha shot back. 

"Of course and we can use some of the remainder string to act as a leash for you, so Kagome can keep you better behaved." Netsuna said without missing a beat.

"Only if you don't get tangled in it. Actually, a giant ball of yarn would be too complicated for you, wouldn't it? Why don't we just get you a small one to keep yourself busy while us real fighters do the work."

"What work? All we need is a baseball player here, give him your sword and it'll work just as well. Except you'd keep chasing the ball."

"Better than my own tail, you little bitch."

"A bitch is a dog, remember?"

"Well why don't you just go –"

"Enough already!" Shippo whined, holding his spinning head. "Yeesh you guys, can't we just go and get this over with so you two can argue about it later?"

"Wanna make me, brat?" Inu-Yasha growled and was about to continue his sentence when he saw Kagome's look. "Keh. Let's just keep moving. We don't wanna waste time."

"They're getting worse by the minute." Kagome sighed as they continued walking. 

"They are cat and dog." Miroku said, as if that offered any explanation.

"Still, they bicker worse than brother and sister." Kagome muttered. "How many more gates to go?"

"There's twelve and we're on the fourth, so I'm guessing that would be eight more." Miroku said. 

"And then it's Naraku." Sango added darkly. They all nodded solemnly and continued walking for another ten minutes.

"Hey, I can see the fourth gate already!" Netsuna shouted out. "They're getting closer together or something. Weird."

"Or maybe we're walking faster than usual. Or they're not as far apart as we originally thought." Miroku added. Netsuna nodded thoughtfully. 

"Still, it's a hell of a lot closer than the others." Inu-Yasha growled. Usually we get enough time in-between to rest up, but it's only been ten minutes. I'm still fucking tired."

"But just as uncouth." Netsuna said perkily. Inu-Yasha muttered something under his breath that made Kagome elbow him sharply in the side. He winced, but didn't complain, knowing he probably deserved it. 

"Alright, everybody ready for the good old ambush?" Netsuna asked, jumping onto a rock. Sango got out her sword, Miroku readied the beads on his hand, Kagome made sure Shippo stayed with her, Kirrara kept on the lookout and Inu-Yasha put a hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt, wary in case his claws were better suited. 

"Good old ambush? You mean this has been done before? Well then, I supposed I'll just come out from the front, won't I?" They all looked up to see the speaker perched on the black stone arch, a tall man in a completely black outfit with piercing red eyes, golden hair tied in a braid except for two long strands that hung over his face and dark grey wings that were folded menacingly over his back, giving him the appearance of a giant crow. He was smiling but there was no humour in it. "And how's the group trying to save the world today?"

Shippo whimpered and hid behind Kagome, under her hair. "That's Hatonomaboroshi!" He hissed, pointing accusingly at the smug angel. "He's a fallen angel, one of the top notches who decided to join the demons! He was well on his way to becoming a Guardian but just switched sides halfway through his training. He's really, really powerful!" 

"Oh, I'm glad I have such a reputation even among children." The angel said haughtily, spreading his dark wings and taking to the air, landing in front of the group with barely any wind, looking almost harmless except for his eyes, cold and with a love for killing. "And no need for introductions then, since, of course, I know who all you are."

"You work with Naraku?" Inu-Yasha hissed. Hato looked at Inu-Yasha as though he were stupid, which was probably what he was thinking. "No, I'm here for the good of my health because I heard that the Unbidden Lands do wonders for the skin as certain times of the year." He said sarcastically. "You must be the threeblood."

Inu-Yasha ears flattened and he bristled. "Wanna make something of it?" he asked, half-drawing the rusted form of Tetsusaiga. Hato's eyes lit up for a moment and he smiled. "Ah, so you are. Good, I'd like to have a nice one-on-one with you." he said, turning to face the half-angel completely. Inu-Yasha grinned at the one insulting his intelligence and drew the sword completely, but not transforming it yet. 

"Well, then, how about starting – "

Hato was suddenly behind Inu-Yasha, holding the half-angel's arms back while he had a knee right in Inu-Yasha' back, immobilizing the dog-angel. "Now?" Hato finished Inu-Yasha's sentence. "Why certainly. But no weapons." He added with a bit of a tsk. Wrenching Inu-Yasha's wrist completely back Hato broke the bone with a resounding crack and forced the rusted sword from Inu-Yasha's grip. Kicking his opponent forward, Hato picked up the sword, tsking. "No, no, this certainly will not do." He said, taking the blade and hilt the cleaning snapping the sword in half, letting the pieces fall to the ground. "Now, shall we begin?"

Sesshoumaru looked up quickly and walked to the window that faced the Unbidden Lands. Jaken was also on his feet and Rin watched curiously as both demons looked at each other, Sesshoumaru showing the hints of worry.

"Jaken, quickly go fetch the blacksmith and bring him here at once." Sesshoumaru said urgently. Jaken bowed and ran out of the room, nearly tripping over his staff. Rin walked up to Sesshoumaru and was about to ask the circumstances but something about the Demon Lord's expression made her stop.

"Shit." Sesshoumaru swore under his breath, looking out at the barren landscape. "I should have foreseen this."

End Chapter 35

Shoutouts:

**link no miko:** GAH! I hate my computer! Sorry the post took so long. Damn story. Anyways, don't you love Mizuki? I really, really wish there was a character based after him in a real anime. Then I could say, I made that character! He's my very own perverted kappa. I love kappas. I don't know why. When I was watching Spirited Away with my family I kept squealing whenever I saw the kappas until my sister told me to shut up, they got it. *grins* And don't get so emotional over the chapter, Sango's alive! See? See? Isn't everything cool and fruit again? Except for Hato in this chapter. But I really, really like Hato and I don't know why. And I got a Gackt CD! I love it1 love love love! My parents are going to start banning Japanese products in our house soon, I'm getting so bad. But that doesn't matter! I have my Gackt CD. But I wanna see Gackt dancing with cat people. *pouts* Durn you…. And HunterXHunter's my new obsession! Kurapika vs Killua? Hmm… in what sense? As bishes or fighting? Fighting I'm not sure, since I haven't seen Killua fight yet (I'm not very far) and Bishy… probably Kurapika, since he's the reclusive character and they're always my fave. And Killua's twelve. That's a bit of a turn off (although I always imagine them older) I also like Leorio. He's just funny. 

Anyhoos, Ama's off to keep writing! And everyone! Watch Spirited Away! NOW!

~Ama


	36. Chapter 36: Blood

Disclaimer: I own what I own and I don't what I don't.

Hello all! Time for another chapter of Guardian Angel! Sorry this one's so short, like the last one was. When I wrote the chapter out it ended up being too long and even when I cut some stuff out it was still too long, so I just cut it in half, which ended up in two chapters too short. But that just means more weeks of Guardian Angel! Lemme alone, I an optimist. 

Shout outs:

**Foureyedbookworm, SimplyTurquoise:** Well foureyedbookworm, _your_ name is 17 letters, so nya! And SimplyTurquoise is eighteen letters! And what is Hato's name number count? One says 13, the other 15… *counts* 13. so febw was right! And I like the name Hatonomaboroshi (which is pronounced hato-no-mabo-ro-shi by the way) But how did I come up with it? The same way all great writers come up with names, and in Japanese it's even easier. Pick random kanji out of the dictionary! Actually 'hato' means 'dove' and 'maboroshi' means 'illusions' so add in a 'no' and you get 'dove of illusions', roughly translated. It was originally going to be Hato no Maboroshi, but since it sounded more like a title than a name I just joined it all together so sound more formal and impressive. It's also quite the mouthful. 

**ChocolateEclar:** Yelling curses at anime characters is fun and if you do it enough your mom will actually start watching the anime instead of looking at you strangely and then she'll get hooked on it! That's what I did for Inu-Yasha, Spirited Away, Laputa, Gravitation and Bastard!!. It was great fun. ^_^ And Kikyou deserves to be yelled at, stupid dead bitch. She died! And then she got revived! And then she died again! And then KAGOME of all people brings her back to life! And she's not even grateful! That stupid little whore… *fumes* Well, that was my ranting. *blink… sweatdrop* I hope I didn't just ruin anything for anyone. (Netsuna was a cat demon for two reasons: 1, I love cat demons. 2, I needed a cat/dog bickering. It just wouldn't seem right without it

**Ayame:** Hurrah for Spirited Away! I love that movie so much. I've seen it in English, French, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, German and I'm seeing it in Protegeus (or however you spell it) soon. Hurrah! And Haku can't be your honey-bunny 'cause he's mine! MINE! *glare*

**Chapter 36: **

**Blood**

"So what's new in the end of the world?" Mizuki asked, shielding himself from the rain and smoking happily after figuring out he could light one cigarette from another. The trespasser didn't seem to share Mizuki's pessimistic optimism as it wrapped it's cloak tightly around it for better cover against the cold storm that had effectively flooded Mizuki's alleyway he was to guard. The kappa, not fazed by the rain now that he had countless smokes, noticed the trespasser was more sullen than usual. "Hey dark and broody, what's wrong? They haven't died or something at the third gate, 'ave they? They're not supposed to."

"How familiar are you with the past, Mizuki?" The trespasser questioned darkly. Stunned at the question Mizuki chewed on his cigarette as he thought.

"How far back?" He asked. "I'm not even three-hundred yet, so I haven't been around for most of the worst things. I know about Second Strike up."

"But how well?" The trespasser asked with a patience that gave Mizuki a dreaded feeling. 

"Well, I guess about as far back as Sesshoumaru's alive. Since 'e's a Lord he's lived longer, lucky bastard." The kappa shrugged. "Especially since this shit with Naraku started about a year ago he's be makin' sure all of his generals and most of his soldiers know everything about the Second Strike's deals. For such an anal guy, he's really superstitious."

"He has reason to be." The trespasser said and held up two finger wrapped in cloth. "I'll give you two questions to respond to. After I have asked them I must go and monitor the battle at the fourth gate; you must contact Sesshoumaru immediately."

Mizuki was getting worried. "What's wrong broody? Who are they fighting?"

"First question:" the shadowy demon held up one finger. "Do you recall Hatonomaboroshi, the fallen angel lord?" 

The kappa nodded. "Yeah. I was just a little 'un when it happened but every demon knew about Hatonobaka. He was supposed to be Hell's cutting edge into starting and winning a war against Heaven, until he fucked up the big time. Screwy bastard, he's dead ain't he?" The trespasser was silent for the whole of three seconds it took for Mizuki to catch on. "Shit, that's who they're–"

"Second question." The trespasser interrupted. "You are Sesshoumaru's most trusted and powerful general; has he ever mentioned the blood to you?"

There was a brief moment where the only noise was the drumming of the rain on the roofs, streets and countless puddles and pools. Mizuki didn't want his cigarette any more all of a sudden and he tossed it into the growing pool of water, his face dark. He looked at the trespasser, almost daring him to reveal the bad news. "More like what do _you_ know about it?"

"I am a trespasser. It is my… place to know these things. Especially in these circumstances." Was the equally menacing reply. Mizuki growled and ran a claw through his sodden hair. "Shit, shit, shit…" He muttered repeatedly until he finally seemed to calm down and looked back at the demon. "This isn't leading up to bad news, is it?"

"Take the guess yourself." The trespasser said, turning. "Now, I must take my leave; I have other business to attend to." He began to disappear into the shadows when Mizuki's voice stopped him. 

"Hey." The kappa said, standing ankle deep in the water. He was completely serious this time, his green eyes shadowed and reflecting the water as his feet. Despite his hair hanging limp and wet around his face and his war tattoos having long run off to leave smears across his eyes and cheeks, his expression was dead set and gave little doubt why such a carefree, blunt and rather idle kappa would become the head of the most powerful army in the three existences. Mizuki's voice was as hard as his eyes as he spoke to a creature that could kill him in an instant. "Take care of those brats and not one fucking one of them is to die until they're supposed to. If the end of the world doesn't work the way Sesshoumaru-sama has planned it, the first thing I'm doing is coming to lob your damned shadowy head off. Got it?"

The shadow's dark red eyes retained a sullen humour in them as the demon nodded. "Everything will go as we have planned." The trespasser said simply, vanishing into the darkness before the general could retort. Mizuki growled and clenched his fist, accidentally crushing the box of cigarettes he was holding. Looking at the now useless fags he snorted and threw them into the street, hearing their faint splash only a trained creature of water could detect. The kappa leaned against the doorway and glared at the darkness the trespasser had frequented during it's visits. 

" 'We', eh?" Mizuki repeated. "Next time you come, trespasser…. Next time I'm gonna squeeze out of you who exactly is part of 'we'."

The rain was his only reply, thundering endlessly, masking from all senses of the Third Strike that was slowing destroying the world. 

Inu-Yasha snarled, holding onto his broken wrist as he watched the fallen angel idly toss away the shards of his father's sword, his grandfather's keepsake. Hato smirked haughtily as the rusted metal clattered against the hard ground, knowing the first step was complete. 

"Well," He said, opening his arms and smiling disarmingly. "Shall we begin?"

Inu-Yasha ripped off a sleeve and tied it around his wrist to keep it as stable as possible. He flexed his fingers to check if they still worked and then smirked at the fallen angel. "I'm going to like killing you. I might even get a medal."

"I could say the same for you." Hato smiled conversationally. "There are many demons who would enjoy taking your life." He raised one hand, still smiling. "Now, we'll have to figure out the rules to this. After all, we must fight like civilized beings. We're not barbaric mortals." His smile turned scornful. "Mostly."

Inu-Yasha flexed his good hand at the insult, but otherwise made no reaction. Hato seemed satisfied with the half-angel's response and twisted his hand that he held in the air. A small ring surrounded his palm and a glowing sphere flared to life in the center. The fallen angel held his glowing hand in front of him. 

"Here are the rules." He said. "They are under angel's oath."

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow, but nodded.

"This will be a fight to the death; neither can back away, neither can give up. One will emerge victorious only after the other has been reduced to dust.  Agreed?"

Inu-Yasha snorted. "Sure." He said, eyeing the angel dangerously. 

Hato's eyes had stopped smiling. "And the only weapons we can use must be extensions of ourselves, agreed?"

Inu-Yasha glanced at the shards of Tetsusaiga and growled but nodded, knowing that his claws were his only weapons left anyway. "Okay."

Hatonomaboroshi's expression darkened. "And that we shall attack only each other. Agreed?"

Inu-Yasha was getting increasingly worried at these requests but damned if he was going to let Hato see that. He glanced over at the rest of the group, who were watching in silence. He looked back at the fallen angel. "Fine. Can we get this started?"

Hato had followed his opponent's eyes on the group, had seen how they had paused on the young girl near the center. He met his opponent's eyes again and closed his fist around the small glowing sphere, the ring still encircling his hand. The ring flared brighter, become an entire sphere to cover the angel's fist. "Then let us begin."

Inu-Yasha immediately leaped into the air, avoiding the blast of explosion Hato has sent his way. He braced himself against a rock to shield from the fragments blasted into the air and then charged at the angel. Spreading his dark wings Hato rose into the air, only to be met head on by a grinning demonic angel. Inu-Yasha swung his fist at Hato's face, only to have it caught by the more powerful angel and twisted, flipping Inu-Yasha in mid air.

"Don't make me break both of them." Hato growled, kicking his opponent in the gut and sending him crashing to the ground. 

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome screamed, almost running forward but Miroku held his arm out, stopping her from dong so. Realizing what she had almost done Kagome froze and clung onto Shippo tightly as she watched Inu-Yasha pick himself up off the ground. 

"Shippo, what do you know of this Hatonomaboroshi?" Miroku asked his childish guardian. 

"He's a fallen angel, a dark Guardian." Netsuna spoke seriously before Shippo could respond. "In the time after the Second Strike he was an apprentice Guardian, one of the strongest angels Heaven had ever held. However he was extremely proud and arrogant and after the power he had shown in the war of the Strike and the battles afterwards thought he was the strongest being of all time and none would dare attack him. The saying 'pride comes before a fall' is based after him. 

"Approximately three or four years after the Second Strike the three existences were still in a bit of turmoil and the demons tried to obtain power at ever single little chance they got. Heaven beat them back most times but we just kept getting bolder and bolder. Finally, getting sick of Hatonomaboroshi we decided to kill him." Netsuna grinned. "My mother was the chosen assassin."

Inu-Yasha body-slammed Hato but the angel folded his wings under him, cushioning his landing. When Inu-Yasha tried to land and slice at the angel Hato kicked his legs out from under him and made his own swipe at the half-angel but missed as Inu-Yasha ducked. 

"Except she never had to do anything." Netsuna continued, watching the battle calmly. "We'll never know how but Hato had managed to destroy his own village, killing the Guardian, his family and everyone he knew, nearly killing himself. He was cast out of Heaven and lived in the mortal realm for a quarter of a century before coming to Hell."

Hato dodged another charge from Inu-Yasha, when the half-angel's leg suddenly shot out and caught Hato in the lower calf, knocking him off balance. Trying to gain advantage in the situation Inu-Yasha flipped up and brought his knee up to meet Hato's back as the dark angel fell. 

"Deciding that since Heaven betrayed him and Hell hated Heaven, he figured that he could just join us and destroy Heaven. There was a big war that a lot of people thought was the Third Strike, but it ended up being a big flop. It was supposed to be the war to give Hell the ultimate power, but instead there was a large disruption in the northern part of the mortal world where the fight was held and everyone, mortal, demon and angel, disappeared. Hatonomaboroshi is supposed to be dead. I guess Naraku found him."

"Naraku has a knack for doing that, doesn't he?" Miroku asked. Sango snorted and Miroku bit his tongue, cursing his wrong choice of words, and timing. 

Hato kicked Inu-Yasha in the stomach, knocking him back into a rock. Inu-Yasha let out a snarl as the stone cut into his back. Using the rock to help him stand the half-angel dug his claws into the bleeding slash on his shoulder he had received from previous fights, reopened in his new battle. Hato landed and folded his wings, looking quite pleased with himself over the outcome of this battle so far. He looked at Inu-Yasha curiously. 

"Tired already?" he asked with a smile. 

"You fuckin wish." Inu-Yasha snarled, ripping his claws out, covered with his own blood. Propelling himself forward, using the rock, he slashed fiercely with his bloody claw, sending a mixture of energy and blood stabbing right into Hato's arm. The angel hissed when he realized what Inu-Yasha was doing and quickly used his wing to deflect his opponent's charge. Not giving up Inu-Yasha dug into the wing and bit down. No longer looking amused at this Hato whipped his wing open, the full force knocking Inu-Yasha off into the ground. 

Breathing heavily from anger, Hatonomaboroshi put a hand up to where Inu-Yasha's claws of blood had sliced his cheek, nearly hitting his eye and rendering it useless. The dark angel clenched his fist and glared at the half-angel. "You are going to pay for that." He growled. 

"I thought he was going to keep our deal." Kagura snorted. Kikyou smiled coldly as she watched the battle from where she and Kagura stood, as Hato made his threat. 

"He is. He's not going to kill Inu-Yasha, he's going to provoke him." The undead Guardian said. 

"How? Not without breaking his own rules, and that arrogant angel won't do something like that." Kagura snorted disdainfully. 

"He made those rules and Inu-Yasha agreed to them. Both of them are bound not to break them." Kikyou smiled. "You'll see."

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome screamed. "Inu-Yasha, get up!" 

Inu-Yasha was panting heavily, clutching his broken wrist as the shots of pain shot up his arm. He growled with frustration and tried to push himself up, ignoring the waves of dizziness. He shook his head to clear it and glared at his opponent. This was only the fourth gate; how in the hells was he to ever get to Naraku if this stupid angel was defeating him. 

"Inu-Yasha!" 

He looked over to where Kagome was standing, safely with the rest of the group. If he didn't do something, Hato would turn on them next after killing him. He had to defeat Hato., As long as he kept fighting, Kagome was safe. He gave a thumbs up to his task… and froze. 

The explosion was sudden but disastrous. Miroku quickly ducked to save Sango but even Netsuna couldn't jump out of the way fast enough. As Inu-Yasha watched in horror and strange creature that seemed half man half machine appeared from over the ridge, laughing darkly. 

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha took a step forward but Hatonomaboroshi extended one wing, blocking Inu-Yasha's view momentarily. 

"Ah, ah, ah… you took an angel's oath, remember?" Hato said with a smugness that made Inu-Yasha want to scream. "You cannot touch anyone but me until I am dead."

Inu-Yasha snarled in frustration. Miroku stood up and waved at the half-angel, but it wasn't to reassuring. 

"Don't worry Inu-Yasha, we'll handle this!" Miroku said, although he himself didn't believe it. He turned at the mechanical man and grimaced. So this is why Hato made Inu-Yasha take that oath. He had reinforcements coming. 

"Puny." Gankotsu rumbled, moving his tank-like body to aim at Miroku. "Gankotsu will destroy you."

The second explosion ruffled Inu-Yasha's hair. He squinted, seeing Kagome pick herself up and try to run away. "Kagome!"

"I missed one?" Gankotsu turned. Inu-Yasha ran forward, only to be tripped. His feet, his own feet were tied by some strange golden thread. He glared accusingly at Hato, but knew he had nothing to do with it. It was the angel's oath.

"What did I tell you?!" Hato accused him. 

Inu-Yasha watched as Kagome ran. As Gankotsu fired. As Kagome disappeared in a ball of smoke and flames. His vision turned red. The oath stopped him from protecting everyone. From protecting Kagome. He couldn't do this, he had to save her. He would save her. If it was the last thing he did. But first he had to kill Hato. He had to get rid of the angel's oath. He dug his claws into the ground, ignoring the pain in his broken wrist, and pushed himself up to face Hato. To kill Hato.

For once Kagura was pleased to be the smug one, as even Kikyou stared dumbly. "So it worked. You see what I mean?"

Hato was smiling as well as his opponent stood up. 

"And now the fun begins." He smiled. 

End Chapter 36

Shoutouts:

**InuSayianPrincess:** answer for question 1: Kagome would –normally- use her bow and arrows but if you read chapter 31, you'll read that angels and mortals can't use their spiritual powers in Hell, unless they're a special case, like a fallen angel like Hato or a half/quarter demon like Inu-Yasha. Because Kagome didn't know this she didn't have her arrows with her when she entered Hell. So now she can't use them. Same with Sango, now that her boomerang's destroyed she can't conjure a new one. And 2. be patient1 Of course I haven't forgotten the Bakuryuha, I just haven't found a good place to use it yet. but be patient.

**link no miko:** I'm sorry the shoutouts took so long! *much bowing* blame my dog. It's his fault for EVERYTHING! Spirited Away is nummy and I've watched it too much. But fun, fun fun! And I love Mizuki. I'm going to make a Mizuki UFO doll. It'll take me many days and I'll stab my fingers many times, but we all need our little pet projects to cure our insanity. Oh wait, I have this story. Well, when it's done! And Hato does remind me of Rociel and a bit of Lucifer (I've only seen him a bit tho, so I can't tell) But I'm starting to think he's like a mix between Rociel and Hisoka. Ah, crazy card man. Maybe that's what I should have made him do *thinks* You were so emotional about Sango! You threatened my firkin life! And have you figured out what Kagura and Kikyou are up to yet? Cause if you haven't *smack upside the head* And I don't know what CD of Gackt I'm getting it, I have yet to buy it. But when I buy it, I'll  tell you! I should be buying it in about two weeks, so yay! *dances* *sniffs* I want all the pretty Gackt stuff you have. I must hunt more. More hunting! And speaking of hunters, in that question I like Kurapika better, although Killua is a batter fighter. Unless he showed Kurapika a spider. Then it's even. *grin* I just like that funny spider phobia. Although I guess it's not much of a phobia… 

And the preview! Since I'm so nice:

PRVIEW CHAPTER 37: LOVE

"Inu-Yasha, what are you doing!" Kagome screamed as she watched her guardian tear through the black arch of the gate. He wasn't listening to her as he tore through the black stone, almost happily. He was bleeding, badly, but he didn't seem to care. If he kept this up he was going to… "Inu-Yasha!"

"You see?" Kagura said happily. "He's lost his mind completely, just as we made him lose his mind before. He has killed you before, Kikyou, and he will kill your Reborn now."

END PREVIEW

Okay, so it was a sucky preview. Enjoy anyway!

~Ama

Quoteacular: Everyday, in every way, I get better and better…


	37. Chapter 37: Love

Disclaimer: YES! I STOLE THIS FROM THE SECOND MOVIE! JUST DON'T SUE ME!

Sorry the story was so late, we had to get the internet work and all, persay. Thank you everyone for being so patient and now here's your reward: The next chapter!

Shoutouts:

**Tsukinoko:** So that is Hanakimi, eh? Sounds quite interesting and intriguing and all out fun, fun, fun. ^_^ But no, I never heard of it, I just sorta gave Mizuki his name and made up Micky because it's the closest 'Americanized' nickname I could think of, plus it sounds stupid. But this Hanakimi thing sounds very, very interesting. And you're right, it is Ginkotsu. That's my second spelling mistake now. I also accidentally got Renkotsu and Suikotsu mixed up, but I fixed that. -_-*

**Inuficcrzy:** Some special truffle cookies! *eyes go all starry* How spectacularly wonderful! Oh, I love you so much! My house warming party is involving much pool and DDR death battles. Hehheh… And no one dropped my computer! Just my scanner. My poor, poor scanner…

**Vold:** My house is cool and moving was BORING. All we did after the hectic painting and packing was sit in the house for five hours, waiting for the movers to come from the other house. *sigh* Ah wells. 

And now, here's your brand-new chapter! Again, sorry it's late and sorry if it seems cliché. But I didn't actually steal it from the movie (well, maybe a liddle bit). I actually had most of this though up some time around November, when I didn't even know there _was_ a second movie. And now they're making a third. With Sesshoumaru. A movie with Sesshoumaru! Quick, someone fly me to Japan now!

**Chapter 37:**

**Love**

"Dammit, dammit, dammit, dammit, damn…" Mizuki paced back and forth, fiddling with his staff, trying not to pull his hair out. He glared at the sheet of rain, now beginning to get curious as to the happenings outside the watery barrier. "Shit, shit, shit…" He turned to face the cement wall beside him, glaring at the piece of mortal realm as if it where completely at fault. He punched it, fruitlessly, and growled, leaning his head against the cold, damp stone. 

He closed his eyes and listened to the rain, deciding to completely and utterly ignore everything else. The different sounds the water made as it drummed against different things: the street, the lights, the buildings, the cracks, the bumps, the puddles. After a few moments Mizuki felt relaxed and almost smiled. 

His kind were water demons, but there wasn't much water in a foul, barren wasteland, which was why his race had come to live in the mortal realm. Then the damn angels had to get touchy about the kappa's choice of appetite, humans organs, and tried to ban them. This led to a rebellion, which led to a massacre, which led to very, very few kappas, who were poor fighters and pretty stupid. That was Mizuki's motivation behind becoming the strongest leader and strongest soldier in the strongest army any of the three existences had ever seen. Despite his carefree attitude, strange sense of humour and lack of respect, Mizuki had a feared reputation and even the Fourth Lord had to give him credit. Mizuki had made a new name for his kind, even if the old names of idiocy and poor attention spans still remained. 

A thought suddenly came to the general and he began to chuckle. He took out his tiny cell phone from underneath his armour and carefully pressed the correct sequence of numbers with his claw. Still chuckling he held the phone up, waiting for the other end to unhook. He stopped chuckling so he wouldn't appear insane, and instead smiled to himself. 

The kappa had a plan.

Hato immediately knew something was wrong the moment his opponent stood up. The fallen angel frowned, feeling cheated. The threeblood was certainly different but the energies he was giving off were so random Hato didn't know if he had either met his match or is this battle would barely be worth it. The stories seemed to be true enough but Hato couldn't help wondering if Kagura had either misjudged Inu-Yasha's strength or he, Hato, was underestimating this opponent (which was hardly likely). Snorting contemptuously, Hatonomaboroshi arched his wings over his shoulders cautiously, to protect him in case the threeblood decided a surprise charge, or proved he was stronger then Hato had suspected. 

However, Inu-Yasha didn't seem interested in his opponent at the moment, looking more curiously at his broken wrist. He brought it close to his face and sniffed it, then sniffed the air before the threeblood's eyes came to rest on Hato. The look in them was so sudden, so drastic that it shocked the dark angel. A mild look that suddenly changed into a ravenous, near gleeful hunger for blood. Hato cursed Kagura to the fourteen heavens for tricking him like this. No doubt she was hoping Inu-Yasha would kill both of them in this fight. 

The fallen angel smiled cruelly. She wasn't going to get any satisfaction out of this battle. Even if the threeblood was feral now he wouldn't defeat the angel that easily. Stretching one hand out he brought forth a sword from the palm of his hand, one nearly the length of his body with a golden hilt that he had inherited and stolen when he was cast out of Heaven. Hato almost felt like laughing. The threeblood might had stood a chance when Hato used no weapons, but now Hatonomaboroshi could break the angel's oath, since his opponent was no longer an angel. 

Inu-Yasha eyed the sword for a second before seeming to complete ignore it's existence as he turned back to Hato. Grinning darkly, the threeblood crouched to attack before his ears and then head snapped to the left and he quickly jumped out of the way to avoid an explosion at the very spot where he had been standing.

Hato looked sharply to the left, glaring at Ginkotsu who stood, as much as a tank-like creature could stand, on the overcrest, a smug look in his eyes as one of the few parts still visible under the metal reconstruction. Hato glowered and raised his sword, bringing it down in an arc before him, creating a wind blast that nearly knocked the behemoth over. Ginkotsu righted himself and turned to look at Hato. 

"Hatonomaboroshi, do not mess with me. I will kill Inu-Yasha." He said in a deep voice. Hato narrowed his eyes and glanced to the right. 

"Oh?" He said toyingly, holding the sword in front of him like a gun and arching his wings, crouching as if ready to attack the Shichinin-tai member. "Shall you?"

Ginkotsu rumbled and turned to face Hato. "Yes. My brothers think I will be satisfied with killing only a fox. But Inu-Yasha's father destroyed my body and I'm going to kill his son with my new one."

Hato suddenly relaxed, standing upright again and resting the sword on his shoulder. "Then perhaps you should have paid more attention to him and not to me."

"What?" Ginkotsu's eye squinted as he glanced over and widened suddenly. Hato only turned his head slightly to the side to avoid the few blood spatters as Ginkotsu's head was ripped forcibly off. Within a matter of seconds his entire body was completely ripped apart before the weapons he carried soon detonated into a large explosion. Hato ducked, shielding with his wings as the dust, rocks and metal shards went flying through the air. He then stood up and smiled, rebrandishing his sword. 

"Perhaps you will be a worth opponent after all." He said with a smile as Inu-Yasha stood up, half his clothing ripped from the explosion. The threeblood turned and looked at him, an indifferent but amused look in his red eyes. Casually shaking his head to get some of the dust out of his matted hair, the demonic Inu-Yasha clenched his claws and crouched, watching Hatonomaboroshi with a look that said one intent: you're next.

Hato held his sword at an angle across his chest, smiling. "Then let's begin." He said, spreading his wings open to the fullest, leaping forward as he used his wings as a sort of hang glider to speed faster through the air. With a growl Inu-Yasha sprang forward to meet Hato in midair. With a resounding knoll ringing through the barren landscape of Hell, claws met steel as the two met head to head at full speed. 

Sesshoumaru's cell phone, set on vibrate because the dog demon's sensitive hearing simply couldn't stand the high pitched tone of the ringing, began to vibrate quite ruthlessly on the Lord's desk, sending a rattling noise echoing in the silent room. Sesshoumaru snapped his head around and glared at the cell phone as if this entire screwed up mess was it's fault. Then, assuming that it had to be important at this time in the war, and since demons don't have telemarketers, the Lord picked up the small object and turned it on to stop it's relentless shaking, bringing it up to his ear. 

"_Sesshoumaru, it's you right?_" The voice came before Sesshoumaru could even confirm he was actually acknowledging the caller. Recognizing the voice, the Lord refrained from sighing and replied. 

"Mizuki, as you no doubt know, this is a bit of a sufferable time. I would appreciate it if you do not try to inform me of what I already know." Sesshoumaru said wearily. 

"_Eh, I figured you already knew._" Mizuki said as impudently as even, Sesshoumaru noticed with a frown. "_I just got a bit of a question._"

"Yes, I have already sent the wolf boy out after my nephew. No, you may not join them."

"_What?_ _Him over me? Come on Sesshoumaru-sama, that kid doesn't even know about Inu-Yasha! I bet you haven't even told him! What's wrong with sending me?!_" Judging from Mizuki's rather predictable reaction, Sesshoumaru knew that he had hit the nail on the head. For all the brains that kappa had, he was still more readable than Sesshoumaru's own brother had been. 

"Kouga is a reliable leader, despite his rashness and arrogance that goes about with his kind. The same things could be said about other demons, however." Sesshoumaru added, silencing the argument Mizuki was about to bring up. "Plus the boy's father had been useful in the past and Kouga could probably handle my nephew for long enough."

"_Long enough for what? This has only happened once before! And the last time…_"

"I am well aware of what has happened with the Guardian Mizuki, you forget that not only am I a Lord but I have ties to these things. Everything will go as according to the past."

"_But Kouga-_"

"Was not in the previous Strike, yes I am well aware of that." Sesshoumaru said in the tone that Mizuki noticed and decided to drop the argument. "Mizuki, you forget my allies. Kouga will be out of the picture soon enough."

There was a pause over the phone, where nothing broke the silence except for the steady buzz of static and rain in the background. "_About those allies, Sesshoumaru-sama, there's something I should_ - "

"Don't bother." Sesshoumaru said, indicating the conversation was over. "Mizuki, for all your admirable brains you are still naïve. I suggest you change that when this Strike is over."

Another pause. "_Yes Sesshoumaru-sama._"

Sesshoumaru nodded and hung up the phone, placing it down on the table again and looking out to the horizon of Hell, where dark clouds were beginning to form, a pure indicator of the break in the existences. It never rained in Hell. 

For once in her long life, for all her smugness and superiority, Kikyou was speechless. She stood there, watching Inu-Yasha as he killed Ginkotsu after his bizarre transformation, the only impression of shock on her stoic face a raised eyebrow and slightly widened eyes, but speechless all the same. She finally recognized the strange aura surrounding Inu-Yasha, after the so many years it had eluded and confused her. 

Inu-Yasha was a pure, full blooded demon.

Kagura, on the other hand, was enjoying this immensely as she watched Inu-Yasha turn to face off with Hatonomaboroshi. "How does it feel Kikyou? To finally understand?"

Kikyou was silent for a moment until she looked at Kagura, a curious look disappearing to be replaced by the usual stone expression. "So you used Inu-Yasha's own blood against him."

"More or less." Kagura nodded. "I was supposed to control Inu-Yasha long enough for the poison that awakened his demon blood to kick in. Naraku simply figured that if it worked for Inu-Yasha's father it would work for him as well, and he was right. The plan was that Inu-Yasha would retain his memories or at least be slightly aware during the battle, but apparently he had no idea what was going on because of the demonic take over. Well, it was at least just as effective to have him regain consciousness and not have a clue as to what was going on." The wind demon smirked.

Kikyou didn't share Kagura's amusement. "And so now you're hoping that history, as it has, will repeat itself and cause Inu-Yasha to kill the Reborn girl?"

"That would benefit us all, won't it?" Kagura smiled. 

Kikyou was silent for a moment and then returned her attention to the fight, where Inu-Yasha and Hatonomaboroshi were still even matched and trying to defeat each other in a sheer battle of strength. "And afterwards? I don't believe that either of us are strong enough to take him down."

"We won't have to." Kagura said simply. "Inu-Yasha will either fight until he is dead or until the point of exhaustion, in which we'd be able to take him easily. I don't think we have to worry."

Kikyou was silent again. "I'm not so sure about that. I think you may be underestimating him."

Kagura eyed the undead angel. Still have feelings for him, she though to herself. No matter. Kikyou would soon be joining the threeblood in death. Now that Kagura had no more use for her, the wind demon could use the power she'd be able to siphon out of the former Guardian.

Kagome woke up more from the throbbing headache than from anything else. Instinctively the first thing she did was clutch for Shippo, whom she was getting so accustomed to holding. When her hands grasped air she sat up in fright, before sensing two things that almost made her forget about Shippo: a Shikon shard and a powerful demonic force. 

Remembering the fox child, Kagome scrambled until she found him, half covered in dust and just waking up as well. The Shikon shard, luckily, was not to far away and as Kagome was standing up and fitting it into her shirt pocket Shippo began to wake up completely. 

"Miroku?" He muttered, shaking his head. "Kagome? Where's Miroku and everyone else?" He asked worriedly before he froze, a look of terror on his features. 

Knowing it could only be one thing, and yet too frightened to ask, Kagome decided to anyway. "Shippo-chan? What's wrong?"

"Kagome…" Shippo said slowly. "I think we should leave."

"Why Shippo-chan? What's wrong?" Kagome said worriedly, turning to glance around.  Shippo scrambled to her shoulder, puffed up and trembling with fright. Kagome froze when she saw it as well, trying to register it in her head. 

It was Inu-Yasha, but it wasn't. His energy had turned for a turn for the worse, completely dark and evil, like some ravenous monster created by a horror novelist. And whether or not the feeling of that energy changed his appearance or not Kagome couldn't tell, but she knew he looked more dangerous, his hair more wild and his clothes and flesh were torn, spattering him with blood. He was standing over the body of the fallen angel, a broken sword hilt in the former's hand and pieces of the blade shattered around the two of them. 

Against everything she knew was smart and right, Kagome began to walk forward. As she began to move forward Shippo squealed and tugged on her hair. "Kagome! Kagome, what are you doing?!" He said frantically. 

Carefully Kagome pried the frantic child off of her shoulder and placed him on the ground. Before Shippo could latch himself onto her again, she turned him around and redirected his attention.

"MIROKU!" Shippo cried, suddenly torn between loyalty and trying to stop Kagome from this suicide. Kagome knelt down and placed a hand on his head, smiling warmly. 

"Shippo, what's wrong with Inu-Yasha?" she asked calmly. 

Shippo sniffled. "It's something that happened to his da too. When Inu-Yasha gets really, really angry or irrational or something just triggers it, his demon blood takes over everything else. Also, it's because Tetsusaiga was broken. It was a seal for his da's blood and also for his."

"Can it be reversed?" Kagome asked. Shippo saw where this was going, but nodded truthfully.

"I don't know how though. All I know is that… Kagome!" He cried as she stood up again and started walking towards the fight. 

"Shippo-chan, just take care of Miroku. He is your task after all." She said before turning and walking away. Shippo faltered before running over to Miroku and trying to wake him up, hoping maybe someone larger than him could at least do something.

Kagome knew that she was walking towards inevitable death, unknown that she was being watch by four pairs of eyes, two waiting for her death, two hoping for her victory. Inu-Yasha stopped studying the blood on his hands and turned to look up at her. Growling he backed up, claws ready to slice into her. Kagome could feel the Shikon shard in her hand reacting to Inu-Yasha's demonic presence, sending a bit of pain through her arm. Still she walked purposefully towards her demonic guardian. 

He looked different entirely. Two jagged stripes decorated his face and his eyes were a dark red with blue irses, his fangs and claws longer and sharper and his general self lost in his animalist demoncy. But she knew he was there. 

"Inu-Yasha?" She said quietly, causing the demon to back up some more and prepare to run away. Realize what he was doing she ran up and grabbed his arm. "No, Inu-Yasha, wait!"

Inu-Yasha snarled and swiped at her, catching her just below the chin. Kagome winced, tears coming at the edge of her eyes from the pain as the blood trickled from her wound, but she refused to let go. Instead she tightened her grip and grabbed his other arm, stopping him from trying escape. Inu-Yasha squirmed but Kagome held on tightly. 

"Inu-Yasha, please listen to me!" She said, knowing full well she could be turned to mincemeat in a second, but just that fact that Inu-Yasha was holding back gave her hope. Still, Inu-Yasha tried to escape and Kagome tugged him forward a bit. Then boldness took her over and she made her decision, to do what she wished one last time. Even if she died right here, right now she would have no regrets then. She closed her eyes, steadied herself, and then focused on Inu-Yasha before pulling him forward as hard as she could.

And kissing him.

End Chapter 37

*grin* And thus I'm done. It's been a harsh week (it's gonna be a harsh month actually, considering everything that's went on. Phew!) but I prevailed. Maybe a little late, but a little late's better then a Dead Ama Day, ne?

And you know what I saw! X2! Oh the millions and millions of the little, little subtle hintings! Like Gambit's real name appearing on the database. And Dr. Mccoy on the TV. And the phoenix on the back of Jean's jacket (I didn't notice that one, but I thought I'd point it out) It's great how they put in all those tiny, tiny little subtle things (I think there's about 12 in total) that keep us amused! Ah, we love them. 

More shoutouts:

**Litwolf689:**  Is this one good enough? Oh, I hope it is. Yes, I realize that it's getting shorter and shorter, but it's the quality that matters, right? And to answer your questions: Yes, Momiji was based after the one from Fruits Basket, hence being a little yellow bunny. Except his personality is nowhere near, I was just on a Fruits Basket kick when I made him up. And two, was that good enough? Or do you want me to do more? Don't worry, there'll be some more good chapters, so don't touch that … er… mouse?

**link no miko:** Yay, you reviewed because you love me! And I put up shoutouts because I love you people, even though the chapter was MIA. You had your last final? *claps* good for you, I'm quite happy! And yep, the Miyazaki-thon will involve My Neighbour Totoro, Laputa, Kiki's Delivery Service and Nausicca (I just know I spelled that wrong) I've watched Spirited Away too many times, so I'm almost getting sick of it. Almost. I just wanna watch the ones I haven't seen yet (ie, above) I also wanna see The Cat Returns, but I don't know where to get it. And the only place I know to get fansubs it eBay, and for IY you can get these HongKong DVDs, subtitled in English and with like 5 eps on each DVD (it comes in packages of three DVDs) Except I don't know how much they are and unlike fansubs they pay the Japanese companies! And don't worry about AS. Now that I have high speed internet (W00t!) I can download it as fast as possible. So I'm getting there. Slowly but surely. Heh, heh, heh. And yes, I'm learning how to make UFO catcher dolls, so I'll make one for you of Micky. Howsa? A pretty pressie. And yes, Kurapika is wonderful. I like his swords but I really like his chain-thingies! Yay chain-thingies! And I wanna be able to do Killua's claw-thingy. And Killua's dad is mighty creepy. Rurouni Kenshi manga being brought over? YES!

Well, that's all for today. See you guys next week with the next chapter: Wounds! Yay!

~Ama

Quotacular: There are two types of people in this world: those who hate being categorized, and those to categorize. 


	38. Chapter 38: Strength

Disclaimer: I haven't done these in a while…

Hey everyone, sorry it's late, AGAIN. I'll try to do my very, very best to get it up this Monday on time! Of course, I have been busy with the moving and the Anime North and everything. I know you all secretly hate me for a con. C'mon. Admit it. I don't care. *grin*

Shoutouts:

**Leina**: Congratulations, you're my 500th reviewer! For a chapter that didn't count! W00t!

**Litwolf689**: For your question about the well… well in the anime it explains that the only people who can go through the well are those that have Shikon shards, but that doesn't make sense on one instance where Inu-Yasha comes through the well and watches Kagome sleep. Because the well's secretly controlled by people who want to make the plot twists funny?

**Lily:, Kristen Sharpe, Fate**: Yes, Anime North! It ruled! Did you go? Did you see me? Did I see you? And Kristen, you have a lot of questions. Try to write them down and ask at the end of the latest chapter, just so I know which ones are answered and which aren't. And I'm trying with the updating!

**Ayame**: Yeah, well you suck then! Nya! *sticks out tongue*

****

**Chapter 38: **

**Strength**

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"Well this is interesting…"

"Interesting? How the hell can you say that? This is totally against the rules!"

"What rules?"

"Oh, you know what I mean." The second shadow crossed it's arms grumpily, snorting. "It's bad enough he went feral. The stupid girl didn't have to go and kiss him."

"I think it's quite romantic." The first shadow smiled and the second shot a green-eyed glare at it. 

"You're a freak." It retorted before raising it's hands in the air again in disgust. "I mean, what the _hell_? This has never happened before! It wasn't even supposed to happen now! That stupid Kagura had to go and spoil the plans! And how let her? _Who let her_? You were supposed to be watching her!"

"And you're supposed to be watch the threeblood and the Reborn."

The second demon paused for a moment. "I hate you." it said finally, turning it's back partway to the first demon. 

"No you don't."

"Oh shut up, I do."

The first demon sighed. "Listen sister, what happened, happened. We're just going to have to take this into stride."

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." The second grumbled. "Now what are we going to do? If something doesn't happen fast they might all die or at least everything's gonna be screwed and Ma's gonna be mad at us…" It whined, fidgeting like a child. 

"Oh come on now sister, you're over-reacting." The first demon said, putting a shadowy hand on the other's shoulder. The second demon pulled away, glaring at her brother.

"Oh, come _on_ now brother. Why the hell are you so calm, cool and collected?"

The first demon's red eyes smiled. "Why the hell are you so annoying?"

The second had no reply.

The red-eyed trespasser sighed and sat back. "Listen, it won't be all that bad. The undead Guardian is the first problem in this picture and in order for everything to work out we'll have to dispose of her first. Just being near the Reborn is killing the both of them, and _then_ we're screwed, as you eloquently put it."

"Jerkoff." The second demon muttered.

The first continued as if he heard nothing. "I say let the Reborn live as she is now. I like the way she thinks, and she's obviously quite brave. She may be able to keep herself alive through the entire time in Hell. It may change some few things, but if we're more careful everything will end as it should."

"Fine." The second demon said, green eye's glinting dangerously. "But let me do something too. The Guardian gets to live. She's one hell of a bitch and I hate her guts, but it could lead to some interesting fun near the end. And then we could lead to the repeat of before, like we planned. All we have to do is keep some certain people out of the way. Got it?"

"From immature to cruel, all in one heartbeat." The brother smiled. 

The sister returned the smile, but malice shone in her eyes. "And one more thing."

"Yes?"

"If we do get screwed, you're the one who's gonna get in trouble with Ma, alright?"

Power.

That was the first thing he noticed. The unbelievable, undeniable, consuming, seductive power. It coursed through every vein of his body, through every thread of his being. He felt as if he were drowning in it, and he loved every moment of it. 

After power came the senses.

He was full demon and he knew it. Not only could he hear Hatonomaborishi's heartbeat, but he could smell his blood, taste his scent, see every twitch muscle, hair and feather, almost predict every movement the fallen angel would make. He was just an open book, ready to be read.

And after the senses… came the hunger.

The hunger for blood. He could smell it, taste it in the air and it was exhilarating. He wanted more, to smell it fresh, taste it on his claws, hear it gushing out of wounds as his victim's hearts beat and wheezed out their last. 

And how convenient. There was one before him. Who's blood was just waiting to be spilled. 

The angel drew a sword from his hands. Keh, a weapon. Weapons would be of no use to anyone, they could easily be turned against the owner in the hands of the enemy. Besides, he had his claws and they were the only weapons he could need. He would crush this fool and drink his blood. What a pleasure that would be. 

Except for interruptions. A noise, like that of a beast being crushed, came from beside him and he could hear the air parting, giving way to some missile being launched at him. Quickly glancing and seeing the weapon he leaped and avoided it, as it exploded beneath his feet. A human weapon, he knew that much. And a human by the smell. He growled at the strange smelling creature, angry at it for interrupting his feast. It would pay, he thought has he readied his claws.

"Wolf!" Jaken clamoured down the corridor, nearly tripping over his robes. "Oy! Wolf-boy! Get over here… oomph!" 

Kouga picked up the foot Jaken had tripped over and shook it fickily. "What the hell do you want toad? There's nobody coming." He stood there casually as Jaken picked himself up and straightened himself out, glaring at the young demon. 

"You idiot!" He shouted, pointing his staff accusingly at Kouga. "Don't you sense it?"

Kouga's face turned thoughtful, as he cocked his head slightly as if listening. After a moment, he shrugged. "Feels like there's a war going on." He shrugged. "It's on the mortal realm right now."

Jaken gritted his teeth, almost at the point of exploding. "Moron! Idiot! Imbecile! What in hell did Sesshoumaru-sama ever hire you except because that stupid feline wench told him too! Damn you!" He shouted, jumping up and down. Calming down and taking a few large, raspy breaths, and old toad demon tapped the cold stone floor with his staff. "There's not just a war going on, you idiot."

"There's a problem."

"Have I any other reason to bring you here?" Sesshoumaru said, not even looking at the blacksmith. "Do you feel it, old man?"

The ancient demon glanced at the wall, his old eyes half-lidded but thoughtful. "Yes Sesshoumaru, I feel it as well. You forget that I am the one who has made and mended that sword many times. I'm afraid this will be the last." He hung his head sadly. "It is beyond repair."

"What?" Sesshoumaru said, his voice tense. He was not one to take stress and bad news lightly, and so far this entire damned month was filled with that. He twitched his nose ever to so slightly, wondering just what was happening. Still, his eyes retained their calm demeanour as he watched the ancient blacksmith, his face a stoic mask from the turmoil within, a long practised and perfected feat.

"You can only break something a certain amount of times before it is either beyond repair or useless now." The blacksmith responded, as cool as the demon Lord. "Tetsusaiga's purpose can no longer be served. As it's master has been reduced to dust, so shall it. Inu-Yasha's father and grandfather are long since dead. Inu-Yasha himself has never fully mustard nor claimed right to the sword. It was not suited to him before and has never been used for it's purpose."

"You're speaking in riddles, old man." Sesshoumaru said impatiently. "You know how I hate riddles."

"What I am saying," The old demon said, watching the demon Lord through his hooded eyelids. "Is that the sword which contained the demon blood of Inu-Yasha's father and grandfather, never did contain the blood of the him. The threeblood was as susceptible to transformation now as he was two hundred years ago. There is another factor in this transformation."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. "And you're point to this is? Who's ambition would this fill?"

"Many." The demon replied. "But one important you yourself should know. After all, it was you who hired her."

Sesshoumaru raised one eyebrow slightly, before looking thoughtful again. "I see. However, while that is what I came to ask you, that is not what you came to tell me, is it?"

"No Sesshoumaru. An old man's words should be taken with a grain of salt. But I shall give you a warning. After the assassination attempt that will happen shortly, I believe you should take up your own armour and take part in this war."

No blood. How disappointing.

He sniffed his claws, receiving only the hints of the great scent, but it was poisoned with other stenches, of strange liquids pouring from the mysterious creature's body. He had started out with blood, the beast's head was flesh enough, but the rest of the body was steel and iron, parts breakable, but not with the same satisfying result. He wanted flesh. He wanted blood.

And now, with no further interruptions, he would get it. 

He turned to Hatonomaboroshi, grinning. He could smell the angel's blood from here, mixing with the liquids of the strange beast and the blood of his own wounds he received from destroying the creature of metal and explosions. This was going to be gloriously fun. 

The angel had raised his sword, challenging him. He was speaking, but words meant nothing to him right now. All he wanted was the taste of blood. So he waited and waited for the perfect moment, when the angel finally stopped his tirade and attacked him. A fair fight. He'd even let him keep the weapon. He was going to enjoy this. 

Inu-Yasha met Hatonomaboroshi in mid air, his clawed hand deflecting the sword downward, pushing the fallen angel down as well as Inu-Yasha leapt over his back. Spreading his wings Hato stopped his fall and managed to turn around, catching Inu-Yasha in the chest as the demonic threeblood hit from the charge at Hato's back. The blow knocked them both to the ground, Hato swinging the sword, horrible at such close range, madly, knicking off the top of one of Inu-Yasha's ears. The threeblood snarled, rolling away as Hato pushed himself up, neatly dodging another wild attack from the demon. 

Hato was beginning to understand the way Inu-Yasha moved now, and could almost predict it. Inu-Yasha kept attacking and dodging, ignoring and nervous of the sword at the same time, like two personalities trying to fight. He quickly dodged another few attacks, before finally catching Inu-Yasha on his arm. Realising he was caught the threeblood quickly went to desperate measures and dug his fangs and claws into the angel's arms. Hato screamed in pain and dropped the sword, trying to stop his arm being ripped off even as he felt Inu-Yasha crushing through the bone. Completely ripping the limb rather then taking it off, Inu-Yasha three Hato over his back, jumping up to meet him with a knee in the gut.

Hato coughed up blood as Inu-Yasha grabbed his wing and slammed the angel to the ground with it. Hato rolled just as Inu-Yasha stabbed his hand into the ground where he was, the angel kicking the demon's legs from under him, trying to crawl to reach his sword, his useless arm trailing behind him. He was about to grab the hilt when Inu-Yasha landed on his back, crushing the angel's chest into his hand and hilt instead. 

Inu-Yasha dug his claws right into Hatonomaboroshi's back, digging right between the shoulder blades, cutting through every muscle. Hato cried out in pain and tried to arch his back, freeing the hilt from underneath his chest. In one swift movement Hato turned and plunged the sword right into Inu-Yasha's gut.

The demon paused for a moment, eyeing the blade that had buried itself inside of him. Frowning he grabbed Hato's wrist that was holding the sword and dragged it away from him, pulling the sword through. Then, with an angry snarl, Inu-Yasha broke Hato's wrist and turned the sword around, hitting the angel so quickly that he broke the angel's neck and shattered the blade around them.

He sat there beside Hato's body, panting as he healed himself, the bloodflow slowly blotting. Then a new scent hit him and he looked up, seeing a human. More blood, he smiled, standing up. Better than the angel's. 

Except he couldn't attack the girl. There was something about her that was painful, that made him want to escape. He took a step back but she yelled at him, calling to him. Something inside of him was ripped, wanting to flee from the girl, wanting to stay with the killing, wanting to kill the girl. Angry and confused, he turned to run away when she grabbed one of his arms. He snarled and slashed at her, but she was unmoving. Instead she retaliated herself and drew her lips up to his. 

There was nothing he could do, for all reasons his struggles were helpless. This girl brought a sense of warmth into him. The less he struggled, the less he wanted to struggle against her. Slowly Inu-Yasha could feel his demon blood dying down and sinking away as he found himself kissing Kagome. His first reaction was to run away and hide. But he decided to stay and enjoy this. 

Kagome felt Inu-Yasha respond to the kiss, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. She could feel that he was back to normal, his familiar aura of mixed bloods. She felt so happy and a bit giddy from the kiss. Slowly they pulled apart, both with embarrassed, dorky grins on their face. Then Kagome hugged Inu-Yasha tightly, crying. 

"Hey, hey, hold on, what's wrong?" Inu-Yasha asked before wincing. His wounds from the fight with Hato weren't completely healed and now that his demon blood was dormant again, it would heal much more slowly. Kagome pulled away from Inu-Yasha, her face red, when she noticed his blood on her clothes. 

"Ohmigod, Inu-Yasha!" She cried, looking at his bloodstained chest, just realizing with a blush that most of his upper clothes were gone. "What happened to you?"

"You hugged me." The threeblood winced, put a hand to his gut. "Don't worry, it's not bleeding that much."

"Inu-Yasha you big, stupid, ugly, jerkface why the hell did you have to go and do that now you idiot!" Shippo's high voice came out in a string as he jumped forward and bit Inu-Yasha's shoulder. 

"Hey, fuck off!" Inu-Yasha snarled, ripping the kitsune child off and throwing him at Miroku, who was walking over and supporting Sango. 

"Inu-Yasha, what happened here?" Miroku asked inquisitively. Inu-Yasha's ears flattened, but he said nothing. 

"Inu-Yasha…" Kagome said, putting a hand on his arm. Inu-Yasha looked at the hand and the girl, blushing.

"Keh." He sat down, crosslegged, ears folded back. "It's a bit of a long story."

"Then give us the short version of it." Miroku argued. Inu-Yasha sighed and was about to speak when he was interrupted. 

"Kagome!" A sudden whirlwind whipped up the sand around them, as Kouga suddenly appeared, dressed in full battle armour and looking really worried. He looked at Kagome and gaped at the blood on her. "Kagome! You're bleeding! Are you alright, what happened to you?" He asked, taking her hands. 

Feeling Inu-Yasha's eyes on them she pulled her hands away as politely as possible. "It's not my blood, it's Inu-Yasha's."

"The puppy?" Kouga raised an eyebrow and glanced down at the sitting, sulking, half-naked and blood-doused threeblood, who was glaring back up at him. "So you're back to normal, eh?"

"If you don't mind, asshole, I have something to tell these people." Inu-Yasha hissed. 

"I can hear it too." Kouga said as about fifteen other wolf demons, one carrying a wounded Netsuna, trotted up. "I think we could all use an explanation."

Inu-Yasha glared at the sudden increase in the group. "Keh. Fine." He said as Kagome sat down beside him. "Well, it's pretty much have to do with my grandfather's blood…"

"He was a great and powerful demon, as you yourself know, Sesshoumaru." The old man said. "However, he carries within his blood the blood of a trespasser. Some favour he did for the beast earned him it's respect and after one particularly brutal battle, when your father was dying, the trespasser did a blooding to save his life. So this blood was transferred to his children as well: yourself and your brother."

"A trespasser's blood?" Sesshoumaru said inquisitively. The would explain a few things…

"However, as we all know, trespassers are probably the most superior of all beings. You yourself must have felt the madness try to overcome you more than once.  But your brother's half-blood was not able to take it. Because of that reason, and that he was strong enough to withstand the blood, your father had the Tetsusaiga sword made with not only his fang but his blood as well, to seal your brother's. However, first your brother must to have earned the sword and earn it yet again when he broke it. But you're nephew…"

"Has never earned it." Sesshoumaru finished. 

"Yes." The old man nodded. "He inherited it as a child and merely grew accustomed to it. It was a mask for his blood, but not a successful one. Because he never fully learned or mastered the techniques of the sword, he does not deserve it. Therefore it is easier than previously thought to take control of Inu-Yasha through his demon/trespasser blood."

"But who would be doing such a thing?" Sesshoumaru glared outside the window, trying to ignore the storm clouds. 

"Who could?" The old man corrected. "To merely turn him feral is a difficult enough feat already, for despite his arrogance and rashness, he has a firm grip on his mind. However, to completely control him, as like two-hundred years ago, would take a pure trespasser."

"Truly…?" Sesshoumaru said thoughtfully. 

"See, what did I tell you?" the trespasser smiled to itself as it prepared to leave. "Interesting…"

End Chapter 38

There, was that better at least? I know what you're thinking, she made us wait for _that_? Well, it does have an important key factor in it, and I wanted to show just how crazy and dangerous Inu-Yasha's blood was. There. Happy? 

Wow! I really suck at this, don't I? *sheepish grin* Well, I'm settled at the house and aren't doing anything now, so things should calm down and everything should be done. I've been pushing myself hard to get these chapters out both faster and better, instead of later and worse. I'm already finished the skeleton for chapter 39, so don't worry, this one will be on time, will be as action-filled and as good as my chapters of earl days and will be long. So be happy! And I have some good Kouga and Mizuki jokes. They're fun to write ^_^

Shoutouts:

**Silver Magiccraft: **I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying!

**link no miko:** Anime North ruled! But you got to go to Otakon? I wanna go there! AN was my first ever con, but if I'm really, really lucky I might be able to go to CNAnime, although unlikely. So I'll probably just save up my money for AN next year, and maybe save up enough to go to Oatkon! Whee! And yes, the reviews make me feel that you still love and support me even despite the fact that I SUCK. Thank god I don't have a webcomic. But when I put up my big corporate House of Bishes business/fansite, I'm going to have a weekly comic there too. It'll only be a tiny thing. But still fine. (The GA doujinshi kinda died…) Yes, I was kinda a bit famous for all my scrounging and buying of plushies. I hung them all over myself and called myself the 'Bish hunter' and people actually took pictures of me! I bought about ten in total, giving most of them away. And there was a Kurapika plush, but it was a bit weird.. the head was kinda loppy and the hair didn't look right. And he had a dorky grin. But I wanted the Leorio and now really regret not buying it. And the Ein. And the Sanji. And Zorro. And Stephy got the Horohoro… Shaman King, One Piece, Naruto, HxH, Inu-Yasha, Saiyuki and Trigun are all my favourite manga at the moment. One Piece and Shaman king are funny, Naruto has ninjas (which is just cool itself), HxH and Saiyuki have really pretty art, especially Saiyuki and Inu-Yasha and Trigun are just cool. And Otakudom rocks! I'm orderinga  copy. Smash Brothers? You were Pikachu, right? Jk. I always play as Link too, because his sword is so cool and he's really nice to handle. And that AMV about the end of Cowboy Bebop… what song was that too? Because if it was to 'How You Remind Me' by Nickleback, there's a really good chance it's my ex-boyfriends. No spoilers in the masquerade though, good enough. Just the AMVs. And a Van and a drunk Vash! I want! There were a few Zelda cosplayers too, and one good Link. I'll send you a pic as soon as it's developed.

**Okonomiyaki-chan:** well, neh.

Preview: Chapter 39 (name to be announced)

                "Kouga, stop!" Kagome shouted at the rapidly running wolf demon. The wolf turned around, but didn't stop running, trotting backwards and waving as though running to his imminent death was no problem. 

"Don't worry Kagome, I'll be fine!" he shouted cheerfully!

The snake-like, conjoined sword of Jakotsu acted almost alive, twisting about and catching Kouga around the arm like a sentient thing, the zombie-like human manipulating it with ease. 

"Caught ya!" Jakotsu grinned wildly. "I got one, Ani-ki!"

"That asshole's crazy." Inu-Yasha mumbled as Kagome turned to him. "Inu-Yasha, you have to save him!"

"Save him?" Inu-Yasha asked quizzically. "Why don't we just let him die?"

End preview.

Okay, okay, so you probably all know that it's just Inu-Yasha being his usually jerk self. But what if it's not? And what about Jakotsu kidnapping Kouga? Eh? Eh?

~Ama

Quotacular: Save the whales! Eat more dolphins.


	39. Chapter 39: Further

Disclaimer: My head hurts. 

Hey everyone! I hope you had a great week since we've last spoken! I'm still really, really sorry about last week's screw up. *much bowing apologetically* But see? This one's on time! Yay!

It's only a few more chapters until the end of the world. And by that, I mean the end of _Guardian Angel_. Which might possible end with the end of the world, but yes… leave me alone, I'm sick. But now you can at least every chapter to have some type of epic battle. And people will die. And I'm not being a ironically-funny author and making only bad people die. I'm warning you right now: people are going to die. The rest of the story may not be fun to parents, small children, old-grandparents and people who watch Pokemon and the edited DragonBall Z. Or people with no sense of humour. 

On that note, let's go out to shouting out to all our wonderful reviewers out there!

Shoutouts:

**Litwolf689:** YOU'RE WELCOME SO MUCH FOR MY UPDATING YOU'RE VERY WELCOME! *grin* I'm sorry, I like to mock the excited. I don't know why. 

**ChocolateEclar:** Cool chapter, but not a hot one? Or an exceptionally stupendous one? I put my lifeblood into writing these chapters! Why can't you be as enthusiastic as Litwolf689??!!! And the trespasser blood thingy is interesting indeed. Although I have the feeling I'm digging my own grave…

**Vold:** So you vant to buy ze Inu-Yasha movie, da? Vell… *strokes chin because being female she has no beard* Try eBay. EVERYTHING is on eBay. Or do what I did to get my DVDs and go to an Anime Con. That's what I did. Although I'm not sure where the second movie can be found, it might not be on video in Japan yet, that's always a possibility. And one more thing to warn you: If you do buy it, first make doubly, doubly sure it has subtitles (unless you're fluent in Japa) and when it does, there's an 90% chance the subtitles will SUCK. Just to warn you. All your base. 

**Stephi:** You call that supportive criticism! You finally review and then you just go and write a one-liner! BAD STEPHI! *brandishes 1-ton hammer threateningly*

**Ayame:** I'm a llama? I thought I was a panda. And now I'm a monkey with wings? Girl, what DO you smoke? And Anime North is a convention. You might be able to go to one someday, if they ever let you out of the asylum. 

And now! That chapter! 

Oh, and just a note to everybody, Inu-kun is half-naked for the rest of the story. NO SHIRT. Okay? Aren't I nice? 

**Chapter 39: **

**Further:**

"Eh." Mizuki raised an eyebrow as he looked at the pavement , or what was left from the flooding streets. Each raindrop seemed to sizzle as it hit the cold ground, leaving a little trail of steam that disappeared after a brief existence, wiped out by another raindrop that splashed and hit the ground with it's own hiss. Sheltered somewhat uncomfortably in a doorjamb he had finally sought shelter in, not to far from the portal to Hell, Mizuki eyed the torrent of hissing rain bewilderedly. Glancing about and noticing that a very thin mist was beginning to rise from all visible ground and water, he glanced back at the hissing pavement nearest to him. Carefully, he placed his hand out of the safety of the doorjamb. 

"Itai!" he snatched his hand back, looking a the three blisters that had begun to form on the palm of his hand, where the scorching hot raindrops had hit. He sucked on the blisters to ease the pain, eyeing the rain with distrust now. 

"Dammit, hot rain means the battle's gettin' worse. And since it's the angels that are doing this shit, it means they're losing. And since the angels are the ones fightin' against Naraku like some of us demons…" He frowned, taking out a cigarette and placing it in his mouth, flicking on the lighter he had found.  Trying to get comfortable again, he closed his eyes, at least relaxing now that the scalding storm would keep anyone who would even bother to reach the portal turn into a fine lobster. And judging from the distance and the ferocity of the rain, Mizuki doubted even he could make it to the portal, especially with his sensitive skin. 

"No use." He said, deciding to catch a little shut eye. "Nothing to do but wait it out…" the sound of the rain changing nearby him caught his ear and he warily opened one eye and glanced over. 

And froze.

"MY SMOKES!" The kappa shouted, stumbling out in the hot rain to try to catch the still half-full box of cigarettes floating away. "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! Ow, ow, ow, owowowowowowowowowow!" He began dancing in the hot rain, and quickly ran back under the doorjamb, blowing on himself as he watched the last of his cigarettes float away into the steaming, foggy darkness. Slumping in the doorway and licking his wounds, whimpering, Mizuki noticed his last fag had gone out sometime during his rain dance. Sighing, deciding he would make this one last as much as possible, he reached into his pocket to get the lighter. 

Only to notice the difference in the hissing of the rain, his empty pocket, and the bright pink lighter flashing cheerfully at him in the lightning as it slowly melted and drowned in the rising, boiling water. 

"So basically, because your old man's half-breed and couldn't keep check of his demon blood, you go wonky when the sword's broken?" Kouga scratched his nose. "I don't get it."

Inu-Yasha's wounded ear twitched. "Kouga, you're really as dumb as you smell, aren't you?"

The wolf general gritted his teeth. "The hell? Hey, just because _your_ family's fucked up, don't go blaming me." He crossed his arms. "And I don't smell."

"Really?" Inu-Yasha scrunched up his nose. "What's the reek then? The rest of your dirty gang? The hell are you doing here anyway?"

Kouga growled and picked up a shard of Tetsusaiga, throwing it at it's former owner. "Making sure you don't fuck up again, ass-sniffer."

Inu-Yasha caught the shard and put it down. "Don't mess with my stuff, freak. And who sent you? My uncle?"

"Don't call me the freak, you're the threeblood who can't even handle his own blood." Kouga snapped back. "And I'm working for your uncle, aren't I?"

Ears completely flattened, Inu-Yasha twitched his nose and stood up so he could be face to face with the wolf demon. "Stay the fuck out of my business, okay wolf? At least we're fucking doing something, not just sitting on our asses pretending to be helping out because we're staying around with some Lord. " 'Yes Sesshoumaru-sama', 'At once Sesshoumaru-sama' … you're like a fuckin' Jaken clone! Running around and doing worthless shit because you're trying to hide the fact that you're not the leader of a wolf clan, you're a leader of pussies and you're the biggest one of them all!"

Kouga's expression turned dark. "Take that back."

Inu-Yasha snarled. "Come on and make me, wolf. Or are you too scared?"

Kouga clenched his fist and took a step forward, glaring at his adversary. "I'm not going to stand around and have my clan and my reputation be insulted by some mixed-blood son of a bitch!"

The threeblood smirked. "Actually, all the doggy-blood came from the male side of my family. And if you don't like it, sit down then."

Before Kouga could make either another reply or just attack Inu-Yasha, Kagome walked in between both of them, not very amused. "I think that's a good idea. Both of you, sit!" Inu-Yasha fell face first to the ground and a glare from Kagome made Kouga grumpily but obediently sit down. 

"Guys, I think it'd be best for both of you to shut up now." Netsuna said from her perch on a rock where she bandaged her arm. While some of the wolf clan had stopped their work to listen to the argument, most of the demons were ignoring the feud as they looted Hatonomaboroshi's remains. Shippo was slumped against Miroku's knee, exhausted from trying to fix everybody up during Inu-Yasha's less-than-comforting speech. Both canine demons shot a glare at the feline and Netsuna shrugged, breaking off the bandage wit her teeth. 

"Oy, I've seen lots of scary shit in my life guys, but you should know above all else, doggy-boy, that a pissed off girl with power is pretty freaky." She said, jangling the many earrings she wore and grinning. "Now, please kindly shut-the-hell-up." 

Both Inu-Yasha and Kouga opened their mouths to say something but Kagome slammed her foot down, the echoing noise it made startling the two boys into looking at Kagome and deciding to maybe take Netsuna's advice. The catgirl smiled as she proceeded to study a broken claw. 

Noticing the they would be quiet now, Kagome sat down with a sigh, noticing that Inu-Yasha's wound was bleeding again through the pathetic bandages they had made, mostly from Miroku's robe. "Inu-Yasha! Kami, did I do that? I'm sorry!"

"Keh." Inu-Yasha snorted, trying to brush the blood and girl away, while shooting a knowing grin to Kouga. The wolf general just glowered at his rival. 

"Well." Miroku leaned against a rock and closed his eyes. "I guess this would be a good place for a nap right about now, don't you agree?"

"A nap?!" Inu-Yasha snarled, standing up, completely ignoring the pain on his stomach. "What the hell is wrong with you, monk? The whole world is getting destroyed and you want to taking a fucking nap?!"

A thoughtful expression on his face, Miroku looked at the slightly darkening sky. After a few seconds of his supposed thinking, he gave a half-hearted shrug and nodded. "Yes."

 Inu-Yasha's eye twitched as he grabbed the monk by the collar and dragged him up. "Do you have any idea who serious this is?! We still have… have… we still have a long way to go! You want to take a nap?! Fine, you lazy-ass! _I'm_ going to save the goddam fucking world!" He threw the mortal down and stormed off in the direction of the fifth gate. 

Kagome stood up in shock, not believing Inu-Yasha's sudden outburst. "Inu-Yasha!" She called, and when her guardian made no hint of even hearing her, she took a step forward. "Inu-Yasha! Si-" Miroku's arm cut her off. She looked at the monk quizzically as he shook his head. 

"It may have been a bit drastic but it got him moving, didn't it?" The boy smiled. "And besides, mentally he'll probably be in better health for the next few fights. Although I suggest we start moving before we lose him or he gets himself lost."

"Not bad, mortal." Kouga snorted, standing up. "All right you weanies, let's get moving! We still got… uh…"

"Eight." Netsuna said, not looking up from filing her claw.

"Yeah! We still got eight of them gates to go through! Let's make it, you slackers!"

"He gets all angry when Inu-Yasha insults his team and then goes and insults them himself?" Kagome sighed and shook her head, picking up Shippo as he tried to climb up her leg. "Shippo-chan, do me a favour and stay as small and young as you are."

"Why? So I don't grow up to be a pompus ass like Inu-Yasha or Kouga?" Shippo asked innocently. Kagome sighed to hide the snicker. 

"Ne Houshi-sama, why do you have to be so reckless!" Sango said, helping Miroku onto Kirrara's back. "You got Inu-Yasha moving but he almost broke your back! Can you never think straight? You just saw how unpredictable he is!" 

"Yes Sango," Miroku winced, "But it got Inu-Yasha moving and stopped another fight with Kouga from breaking out. Besides, I like all this attention your giving me. Especially when you were taking my robes off."

Behind him, and glad so, Sango blushed. "We needed your robes for Inu-Yasha's wound."

"You were still taking them off, ne?"

After a few moments of silence, Sango decided it would be the best course of action just to smack Miroku on the back of the head, heedless of what further damage he would take. 

"A-ra?"  Netsuna looked up from filing her claws to see everyone was leaving. "Eh? O-oy! Guys! Where are you going?" She jumped up and raced after them. "Guys, I'm the only one that knows the way! Oy!"

"Oh, how boring." Jakotsu sighed, flicking his weapon and watching the many blades attached end on end curve and twist like a living being. "Ani-ki, when can I do something?"

"Mm?" Bankotsu glanced over at the strangely garbed Shichinin-tai who was leaning lazily against the black stone of the twelfth gate. Jakotsu twisted his wrist and his snake-like sword neatly folded back into place as he caught and sheathed it. "I'm so bored." He whined.

"What for the trespasser and Moukotsu to return and then we'll see." Bankotsu said calmly. Jakotsu pouted. "Aw come on, don't gimmie that face. You look like a woman." Jakotsu straightened his face and frowned before resting back against the stone. 

There was silence for a minute before Jakotsu began whining again. "Ani-kiiiii, I'm so borreeed!!!" He said, chipping at the black stone with his other, normal sword, blowing the dust off of his face. 

"Would you shut up?" Another voice snapped and Jakotsu looked over at the bald Renkotsu, sitting on top of a rock with all the appearances of meditating. "You'll have to wait like the rest of us. Now wait in silence."

Jakotsu glared Renkotsu and stuck out his tongue, going back to amusing himself by chipping away at the rock. He began humming to himself, quietly at first and then slowly getting louder. Just when Renkotsu looked as if her were about to attack Jakotsu, a footstep was heard and the remaining four Shichinin-tai members paused and then stood up, weapons ready. A shadow stepped apart from the other shadows, red eyes glistening. 

"Ah, trespasser, you have news for us?" Bankotsu tied his weapon back onto his back, smiling warmly at the visitor. Noticing the shadow demon was alone, he frowned. "Moukotsu…"

"Failed. As expected." The trespasser shrugged.

After no further comment, Bankotsu glanced at his team-mates and turned back to the shadow. "Can you give us an explanation?"

"What's to tell?" The trespasser said, leaning against the solid cliff-face. "It was quick and I assure you, it looked quite painless. Sesshoumaru must have had… outside information."

Bankotsu's sword was out of it's sheath and aimed directly at the shadowy demons throat in least then an instant. "Who did you tell?"

The trespasser gave the implication of a smile. "No one. There is the entire possibility that Sesshoumaru's own trespasser had read my mind and told him. However, that is unlikely since she is occupied at the moment."

"Bankotsu." The eldest of the Seven looked over at a humble-faced man, who walked calmly up to trespasser. He put a hand on Bankotsu's sword, lightly pushing it away, and stood nearly face to face with the shadowy demon, his face expressionless. 

"You did not come here to tell us of Moukotsu's death. Had there been no other reason, you wouldn't have bothered coming." He said. 

The trespasser smiled. "Yes."

"Hmm, didn't think about that." Bankotsu said as he returned his sword once more. Jakotsu had sat back down but was watching with interest, while Renkotsu was ready to react at any time. 

"So, what do you have to tell us?" 

"The threeblood." The trespasser said without any hesitation. "He is reaching… no, he has already reached the fifth gate and is no doubt fighting the guardians as we speak. He is unstable as of now. It would be a prime moment to attack."

"Really?" Jakotsu was on his feet at once. "Oh Ani-ki, can I go, can I can I can I?"

Bankotsu raised a hand, silencing Jakotsu for a moment. "There's something you're not telling us."

The trespasser gave no reply for a moment before nodding. "There always is. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have errands to run." The demon disappeared before anyone could do anything Renkotsu took a step forward but this time the quiet man lifted his hand. 

"Suikotsu, what do you think?" Bankotsu asked. Suikotsu shook his head. 

"Difficult to say, Bankotsu. He's obviously baiting us, and is quite treacherous. There is something he's not telling us, but it is true that Inu-Yasha has reached the fifth gate. It would be a good idea to intercept him, but not alone." He said, before shrugging. "But that's just my humble opinion."

"Hmm…" Bankotsu thought for a moment before turning around. "Renkotsu, Jakotsu. Head to the fifth gate."

Both Seven members stood up and looked at each other warily. "Ani-ki, are you sure?"

"You know we don't get along."

"Are you questioning my orders?" Bankotsu growled. "We don't have time for this. You two, get moving."

Renkotsu paused and then turned. "Alright then. But no funny business."

Jakotsu gave him the same glare and nodded meaningly. "But Inu-Yasha-kun is mine."

"Whatever."

"I spy with my little eye…"

"You are SO not starting that shit up again!"

"I'm bored!" Netsuna complained. "It's still another half-mile! We'd be there by now if you hadn't stormed off on your own!"

"We'd be there by now if you weren't such an incompetent bitch!" Inu-Yasha snapped back. 

"Oh shut up!"

"Whore!"

"Ass hole!"

"Bitch!"

"I'm a cat, you loser! Learn the species!"

Shippo held his small hands over his ears. "If it's not one, it's the other."

"I think she's just trying to argue for the fun of it." Kouga grumbled. He paused suddenly, glancing over to the east. Inu-Yasha stopped too, ears turned in the same direction.

"What is it?" Kagome asked as the rest of the party stopped. Kouga held up a hand and started walking towards a large hill in the landscape, crouching down and preparing to attack…

"INU-KUN!" A high, squealing voice came as something launched itself over the rock and grabbed Kouga in a tight hug. Kouga jumped up and tried to peel the form off of him, as it suddenly jumped away itself. A completely disappointed look on his painted face, Jakotsu delicately brushed the dust off of him. Then he turned to the rest of the stunned group. 

"INU-KUN!" He shouted again, glee lighting up his face as he spotted the distressed threeblood. 

"Oh fuck." Inu-Yasha groaned, his ears drooping. 

"Uh, Inu-Yasha? Care to explain why a **man** is calling you Inu-kun?" Netsuna asked. 

"Stay out of this!" Inu-Yasha snapped. 

"Who I am isn't important!" Jakotsu grinned. "Since I'm about to kill you all!" He whipped out his sword, one of about sixteen blades all attached expertly at the ends. Kouga glanced at the group to Jakotsu and back, before charging at the Seven member. 

"I'll shoe you who's a pussy, threeblood!" He growled to himself, remembering the Shichinin-tai and Inu-Yasha's inability to defeat them before. If he could only get a little bit closer…

"Kouga!" Kagome suddenly noticed the wolf demon racing at Jakotsu, turning the mortals' attention to his too. The wolf turned around, but didn't stop running, trotting backwards and waving as though running to his imminent death was no problem. 

"Don't worry Kagome, I'll be fine!" he shouted cheerfully.

The snake-like, conjoined sword of Jakotsu acted almost alive, twisting about and catching Kouga around the arm like a sentient thing, the zombie-like human manipulating it with ease. 

"Caught ya!" Jakotsu grinned wildly. "I got one, Ani-ki!"

"That asshole's crazy." Inu-Yasha mumbled as Kagome turned to him. "Inu-Yasha, you have to save him!"

"Save him?" Inu-Yasha asked quizzically. "Why don't we just let him die?"

"Inu-Yasha!" Kagome protested, turning back as Jakotsu used his sword to throw Kouga, quite wounded, against a stone. "Now… who next…?" He asked, scanning the crowd.

"Jakotsu." The young man paused and looked behind him, as Renkotsu stepped over the stone, a heavy weapon that resembled a missile launcher on his shoulder. "Don't get so hasty. We'll split up: I'll take half and you take half."

"Is it just me?" Netsuna asked. "Or does this not look good?"  
End Chapter 39

It's almost another milestone! Next chapter is the countdown of the last ten chapters of this story! Can you freaking believe it?! TEN chapters are left! Well, eleven, but next time I write down it'll be ten! I'm scared! I don't know what I'll do in my spare time anymore! *thinks* I think I'll continue downloading manga until my eyes actually do start bleeding. And maybe go back to school. And sleep. Sleep sounds good. Hurrah! My life is planned out!

And for all you Shichinin-tai rabid fangirls out there: Yes, I did change their personalities somewhat, but they're not _completely_ OOC. And normally, it wouldn't have worked in my story if they acted entirely the same. And I think Jakotsu's cuter that way.

The rest of the loverly shoutouts: (and hey, if I accidentally miss ya, don't hesitate to yell at me for it. Then I can laugh at you. And feel ashamed. Don't worry, there will be the shame)

**Tsukinoko:** What? What is this about you seeing the third movie when it comes out? Do you live in Japan, or have contacts that do? Or are you simply a rich bum? Either way, I'm your friend! *big Suichi eyes* Friend? Frieeennnd. 

**Okonomiyaki-chan:** Don't get your knickers in a knot, you weirdo!

**link no miko:** You don't remember what you were going to say? Now that's a bummer, but I can relate. I'm almost always forgetting what I'm going to say, like this one thing when I… I forget… And would you stop with the typos! Nah, actually keep going. They're funny. Tetsusaiga's a hotdog! Whee! *is giddy from medication* People always make fun of me for everything. But in the end, I'm always the last one laughing. Mostly because I just start laughing for no particular reason. And then I get a plastic bag tied around my head. I need new friends. And stop with the question, 'cause Ama no tell you anything! Bad! And you had a dream about Netsuna? Weird… *pumps fist* \/\/00+! I'm affecting people's dreams now! My quest for global domination isn't too far behind! You're not going to drop the 'full-demon-on-his-ass' thing, are you? That's okay, 'cause neither am I! What the hell were you thinking when you wrote that? And trespassers are cool and good space-filler. I like writing about them. Them and Mizuki. He's just amusing. Like his raindance in this chapter. That was the highlight of writing it. And yes, I'm the owner of the great plushie harem! Or I will as soon as I buy more and more and more! *evil laughter* And sure, House of Bishes will probably be up… next century. Nah, I kid, I just have to finish most of the paperwork and then force one of my friends to help me out with the techy stuff. And then you can go and buy whomever you like! And speaking of buying (you actually don't spend any money at HoB, btw) YES, you can buy Otakudom! Just go the site! Which I can't remember! But it shouldn't be that hard to find… And you don't remember the song, well that's okay. You finished reading AS! Yay! I got distracted from it by moving and downloading Hunter, so now they don't have the first book up yet and I still need two more chapters! **Cry** Could you send me the book, pretty-please? *big Suichi eyes* And yes, I'll send you the pic. Now calm down. 

Preview Chapter 40 (only ten more, *sniff*)

                _"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha ran frantically around, searching through the dust. A whistling noise came to his left and he ducked just as another projection flew over his head, exploding a nearby rock. Inu-Yasha darted, trying to find his way through the smoke by use of hearing alone, since the dust clogged his eyes and prevented use of any scent. He broke free from the cloud only to be hit by the strong scent of blood, strong enough to send him reeling backwards. He took a few halting breathes, trying to hold back the rancid vomit as he swallowed, trying to get used to such an over-powering smell. He could see the blood on the ground too, so thick it was nearly black. _

_                "Almost artistic, isn't it?" Inu-Yasha snapped his head over to the speaker, the bald Shichinin-tai member smiling as he leaned on one knee, the large missile weapon leaning heavily on his shoulder. "The fire, the dust, the blood and the screams. The girl's added a nice pitch, I think."_

_                "You fucking.. oh kami, no…" Inu-Yasha head reeled as he tried to find Kagome's scent in the blood, but it was too thick and overpowering. He looked frantically around, seeing only the odd pieces of the wolf army and dust. _

_                "Well, it looks like your turn. Jakotsu's going to be so disappointed." The mortal said, lifting his weapon. Inu-Yasha looked over to see it pointed right at his head. The adrenaline was making his head reel and his vision was going blurry from the stench. He took a step back, taking deep, ragged breathes. This man killed Kagome…_

_                "Good bye, Inu-Yasha…" The mortal said, taking aim. _

_                Inu-Yasha's blood was pumping in his ears. This man killed Kagome. He had to kill him. He clenched his claws, not noticing the scent of the blood, or his wounds, the dust or anything. Just Renkotsu…_

_                He felt a tingle in his blood and his vision began to turn red…_

End Preview *grin*

That's all for tonight folks! Y'all have a good week no, y'hear?

~Ama

Quotacular: I've always been deeply afraid of clowns. I think it goes back to when I went to the circus once and a clown killed my dad. ~I don't remember who said it…


	40. Chapter 40: Slaughter

Disclaimer: PIRO-SAN!!!!! *faints*

Hey everyone! How is the world here there and everywhere? I'm tired, very sleepy. But I'll be fine! Fine, fine, fine… the crack must have been stale *eyes trusty jar beside computer* Ahem. Well, it's the tenth-last chapter of Guardian Angel! That's right, only nine more weeks and Ama has one less thing to do in her dull, sleepless life. And you guys have no more Guardian Angel to read. There is one way to help though: Send money. Okay, I kid. Really. Unless you want to. 

Shoutouts:

**Silver Magiccraft**: Thank for the compliment on the last couple of chapters and don't you have any constructive criticism other than 'great'? And you want me to hurry? I update weekly, isn't that good enough? Besides, there's only ten chaps left, do you really want me to end it SOONER?

**Tsukinoko**: You go to Japan? *big sparkly eyes* Where do you live so I can come and hide away in one of your suitcases? Pretty, pretty please? I would die to see an actual anime movie in a Japanese movie theatre, especially Inu-Yasha, especially the third movie… *goes into Ama dreamy mode* Could you get me a bootleg, even if it is crappy? Hell, I don't even care if it's raw and there's some guy's head in the way most of the time. It'll be worth it. 

**ChocolateEclar**: Well, that's good enough to mock for over-excited ness, but you call exclamation marks and capitals excited ENOUGH? I mean, come ON girl, if you wanna be excited enough for the mocking, you must run your words together and insert random actions. I mean, it's such a privilege to be mocked by me. *grin*

**Kagomesjewel**: No. You must go back and review EVERY single one of my chapters, signed in. And then sign out and review them all over again. That is your punishment! That and one-hundred zucchinis to be delivered at your front door! But yay, I'm happy you like! Am I really one of your favourite authors? Really and truly and for sure? You love me! You really love me! And I'll go and check your story quick as a fox, as soon as I'm finished everything else, kk?

**Vold**: Surprise your friends, burn down their house? I love it! I love it a lot. Quotaculars are fun. Fun, fun, fun. Yay for fun! I need more sleep. Yes, that preview was evil, wasn't it? I don't know where it came from. Muses are funny. Did you like Mizuki's raindance? You said you love Micky but you didn't mention his raindance. I worked so hard on the characterization for that part! Did no one love it? *starts crying* Note to self… lay off the Pocky…

**Fate**: Yay rabid Inu-Yasha! Don't you agree he looks like a bug when he's youkai?

**Asha**: You just read 12 chapters straight? Now that's dedication! Yay! And updates are every Monday, time debatable. And the title for the third book is 'Threeblood', although I forgot to put that in. But then I re-did it. But I just checked it and it didn't work. Hmm…. But it's Threeblood. You wanna print my story? I'm so flattered! Quick, pass it around and get more people hooked. Advertise! Advertise!

**Litwolf689**: Now that's excitement. Or crack. I'm assuming both right now. Sequel? Hmmm….. maybe if enough people ask I will. A sequel would be fun… although I'd probably do a prequel. Then maybe a sequel. Or go to sleep. I like sleep.

**Stephi**: By 'tonight' did you mean Wednesday or Monday? I was on both nights… maybe your timelines are screwed. SCREWED. SCREWY. POCKY. I like Pocky…

And now the chapter!

**Chapter 40:**

Slaughter 

Mizuki was getting more and more miserable by the moment.

He glowered at the steadily rising pool of less than comfortable temperature water that was getting closer and closer to his bare and venerable feet. He was on his tiptoes, avoiding the imminent rises that would happen every once in a while due to the rough winds that blew around the place. He was beginning to like the idea of a cold and rather dry Hell, rather then this stinking, stupid hole. Hell was flat too, mostly except for the wilder regions, while this damned realm had hills and bumps and shit like that. He really wish he had known or bothered to at least check the concept of uphill or downhill. Damned rain. Stupid angels. Stupid, stupid, fuck, fuck, fuck. He glared at the brick wall. Unlike normal being grumpy wasn't cheering him. Except that was probably because his smokes were now part of the stupid soup that threatened to eat him alive. Another raindrop got blown into his barely safe hideaway, hitting him on the cheek and causing him to hiss, as he brushed it off and chalked up another blister. 

"Enjoying yourself?" a familiar voice said and Mizuki turned to glare at the trespasser, still standing in the shadows but using it's stupid mysterious powers to keep the stupid rain away. Mizuki really, really wanted to punch him in the face right now.

"Fuck off, Shady." He mutter, trying to close his eyes and look like the rain wasn't bothering him at all, but just then the winds turned really fierce and a few raindrops got blown in, not to mention the ever rising water lapped at his already sore toes. 

"Ow, ow, ow, shit!" Mizuki jumped a bit, blowing on his toes. The trespasser chuckled and the kappa glared at him irately. "What do you want?" he asked carelessly. 

"I have a proposition for you." The trespasser said calmly. Mizuki snorted. 

"Look, unless it involves  me getting out of this stupid place, go shov-"

"It does."

Mizuki stopped mid-insult. "Really? Fucking really? You can get me out of this place?" His excitement suddenly died as he eyed the shadowy demon suspiciously. "Where the hell will I be going?"

"To Hell, of course." The trespasser said. "Your presence is needed."

Mizuki raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Listen bub, I know your guys and you're little charade here, so don't go getting any ideas. I know that you and your sis are plan- itai!" another gust of wind sent two or three raindrops right at his face. Hissing and rubbing the new raw wounds, Mizuki glanced at the pain-rain-less trespasser and then outside at the torrent storm. "Say, you can't…"

Another gust of wind caught up, this time not sending any rain at him but sending the water closer to his feet. Mizuki inched as far away back as he could and looked at the trespasser, laughing nervously. "Okay, what do you want me to do?"

The trespasser smiled, a sight that Mizuki was starting to hate as much as this realm. "Well, why don't we ask Sesshoumaru, shall we?"

Jakotsu frowned at Renkotsu's proposition, knowing full well what the ruthless man wanted. Dibs or no dibs, Renkotsu enjoyed killing as much as the next Shichinin-tai member and everyone knew there would be something in it for them involving the death of Inu-Yasha. The young man wanted the reward, yes, but he wanted Inu-Yasha more and absolutely despised that Renkotsu was trying to kill Inu-Yasha for himself. And this would be the perfect way to break the oath made among the members of the Seven without actually breaking it, by accidentally killing the threeblood. 

Callous, selfish bastard. 

Jakotsu shrugged and nodded, giving Renkotsu a glare as a last warning to stay away from the threeblood and prepared his sword to whip out and grab Inu-Yasha as soon as the fun began. The moment his moved his arm the small army of wolf demons tensed up for battle. Renkotsu noticed this and smiled. 

"They're worried, Jakotsu." He said in a voice that made Kagome shiver. She stayed close to Inu-Yasha, who's ears were flattened to hiding in his hair, his claws tense. Renkotsu had the very air about him of one who killed without a second thought, and those he thought about he enjoyed killing. Shifting the large weapon he carried on his shoulder, the bald, painted Seven member smiled disarmingly at the group he was about to slaughter. "Don't be so tense my friends, this won't last that long. Right Jakotsu?"

"Hai, Ani-ki." Jakotsu nodded, flicking his many-bladed weapon which twisted like a serpent. A few of the wolf demons backed up nervously, glancing at Kouga who seemed a bit bloody and quite unconscious at the moment. Jakotsu giggled and flicked it again, watching as the demons got more and more nervous, unsure of what to do now that they're leader was out of service. Jakotsu was enjoying himself as he scared the wolf demons. 

"Psychology." Miroku muttered. "The one with the sword isn't as stupid as he seems to act, despite his entrance."

"What do you mean, Houshi-sama?" Sango asked. 

"He's getting everyone nervous and scared because they don't know when he's going to attack when really he's just enjoying himself and when he does attack everyone will be unprepared." Miroku explained. "Bastard. And Shippo, could you please stop hiding in my robes?"

"But he scares me!" Shippo whined, poking his head out slightly. 

"Oh Kami, stop it already!" Netsuna snapped, stomping her foot. "If you're going to massacre us, frikin' DO it already!"

Jakotsu stopped his fun to look at the catgirl curiously, while Renkotsu's expression grew dark. 

"YOU!" They both said at the same time. Netsuna paled. 

"Uh, me who?" She asked nervously. 

"You will be the first. It's that simple." Renkotsu said, raising his weapon. Netsuna paled even more as she pointed at Renkotsu's weapon and looked at everyone else half curious, half frightened. "Uh, what's that?"

"Netsuna, move!" Kagome shouted in warning and the feline demon twisted out of the way just as the ground exploded near her, sending rocks and dirt flying everywhere. 

"Dammit, didn't we have enough of things blowing up?" Inu-Yasha swore, turning his attention back to Jakotsu, who he could tell was more dangerous. And now he was without a sword. Oh bloody fucking hell.

"Inu-kun, it's your turn!" Jakotsu called cheerfully, drawing his arm back as if preparing to cast a fishing line. Inu-Yasha braced himself. "Kagome, get out of here! Go with Miroku and Sango!"

"But…" Kagome began. 

"NOW!" Inu-Yasha snarled, pushing her away as Jakotsu threw his sword directly at the threeblood. Inu-Yasha managed to avoid it for the most part but one the blades, while whipping back, caught him nicely in the shoulder, wounding him badly. He grunted, feeling the blood on his back as all hell broke loose. 

Having no idea what to do, half the wolf demons charged Jakotsu and Renkotsu and the other half stood around or panicked. The result was worse then anything could have happened, as Renkotsu just fired another round into the group attacking him and the panicking demons began to cause a good deal of confusion. 

"Inu-kun, I'll get you this time!" Jakotsu called cheerily. 

"No you won't, you gay freak!" Kouga tackled the young man from behind, knocking him to the ground and knocking his weapon out of his hand. Kicking the wolf demon off of him, Jakotsu stood up and wiped the blood from his mouth, smiling. 

"You play hard, wolfy. What's your name?" He asked sweetly, brushing some dirt off of his clothes.

"None of your fucking business." Kouga spat, preparing to charge the mortal again. Jakotsu sighed and pulled out another sword, normal but still deadly looking, from his belt. "You demons are always so brash and rude. But it makes you just so adorable!" he said, charging the wolf demon first. Surprised by the sudden attack Kouga only had his quick wit and Shikon shards that made him faster to save his life. Jumping out of the way he landed on the ground and turned to attack Jakotsu from the back, only to come close to meeting the sword in his throat. Swerving quickly to avoid the weapon, Kouga skidded and hit a rock, missing his footing. Jakotsu turned around and slashed down, nearly cutting the wolf demon's head off if Kouga hadn't continued to slid forward. 

"Trying to steal my Inu away from me, eh?" Jakotsu said, stabbing at Kouga who leaped away to avoid it. Growling, not sure if that was an insult or the weirdo was just being a weirdo, Kouga decided to take it as both and picked up a handful of sand, running right past the Shichin-tai member and throwing sand in his face. Putting a hand to his eyes Jakotsu let out a yell from his momentary blindness. Stopping to rub the sand out of his eyes, Jakotsu turned to Kouga, glaring at him. 

"You threw sand in my face!" He shouted. "Sand! In my face! I hate you, hate you, hate you!" He said. "You're going to pay for that." He threw his sword straight at Kouga, who dodged it easily. 

"Heh, that the best you can do, freak-face?" Kouga asked, only to realized that Jakotsu had turned around to storm towards his long, snake-like weapons, which had been half-buried in the rubble caused by one of Renkotsu's explosions. Picking it up by the handle, Jakotsu swung it right over his head in a arc that would have been spectacular if it wasn't the very sight Kouga would hate to see the most at the moment. Glaring daggers at the wold demon, Jakotsu turned wordlessly to the melee of wolf demons, Renkotsu's bombs, a few other lesser youkai that had joined them for the trip and Inu-Yasha's group. Raising the sword over his head, Jakotsu swung it just like a fishing rod, right into the melee. 

"NO!" Kouga said in disbelief as the sword came back with a good deal of blood on the blades. Jakotsu raised his arm to throw the sword again but Kouga ran forward to stop him. Jakotsu turned swiftly and surely, swinging the sword right into Kouga's gut. Tasting blood the wolf-demon was thrown into the rocks, coughing up blood and vomit from the pain. Jakotsu wordless whipped his sword back and tossed it back into the fray, having gone straight into his ruthless killing mode now, nearly unstoppable. 

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha had turned to find his task the moment Kouga had distracted the Shichinin-tai member, but the panic had already started. "Kagome, where are you?" He asked. 

"Inu-Yasha!" A voice directed his attention over to the right, where Shippo was standing, his clothes somewhat cut. He was fighting off a demon barely twice his size, but made up of enough spikes to give the little kitsune angel trouble; especially when Shippo couldn't use any of his magic. Jumping over, Inu-Yasha slashed the demon in half with one swipe and then looked at the tired, frightened and wounded angel. "Where's Kagome?"

"I don't' know" Shippo said. "There's blood everywhere, everybody's dying. Inu-Yasha, I'm scared!"

Wondering why the hell he had even brought the kit along, but then deciding that whatever was happening on Earth couldn't be much better, Inu-Yasha picked up the kit. "Fine then, where's Miroku or Sango?" He asked, trying to keep his patience. Shippo shook his head fearfully. 

"Fuck." Inu-Yasha swore. "Then…"

"I think Sango's dead. For real this time!" Shippo blurted, looking ready to burst into tears. "Miroku was fighting off some of the youkai when a rock exploded nearby and that bald freak appeared, laughing his stupid head off. Miroku tried to fight him but apparently the guy had monk powers to and he almost killed Miroku when I bit him on the hand and he shot his gun-thingy and it hit Sango and now she won't move or anything! I might have killed her!" Shippo broke down. Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes, not having time to be sympathetic. 

"Moron, when mortal souls die a second time, they vanish! If she's not moving but still here, then she's unconscious, not dead! Now if you're not going to be a use to me then go back to Miroku and Sango and try to help them out! You moron!"

Shippo froze when he saw Inu-Yasha's expression and nodded wordlessly, squirming to get out of the threeblood's grip. The threeblood snorted and turned back to the fighting youkai as Shippo scrambled over some rocks to where Miroku and Kirrara were guardian the unconscious Sango, although miraculously their hideout saved them from all but the most inquisitive youkai, but they were mostly occupied. The only real threat was Renkotsu's missiles, which Kirrara was keeping an eye out for. 

"Miroku!" Shippo said, jumping onto his task's leg. "We have to go save Kagome!"

"Why? Where is she? Isn't she with Inu-Yasha?" Miroku asked. Shippo shook his head. 

"No, they got separated but we have to find her before Inu-Yasha does! He's going crazy again! Last time he scratched her face, this time he might kill her!"

Miroku didn't really remember Inu-Yasha's previous bout of demonicy but the wounds on Kagome's face were certainly good enough evidence. He nodded and stood up. "Alright Shippo, let's find her."

Inu-Yasha growled as he killed another of the youkai with frustration. The only good thing about this was that it meant they were close to the fifth gate, which would be the only reason why the stupid buggers were here. Naraku just sent them along with the two Shichinin-tai members just to give them more trouble and piss him off. 

Looking around for Kagome he spotted her with two other wolf demons who looked like they were doing a poor job of trying to protect her. He quickly made a bee-line for her when a heavy object hit him straight in the chest. He fell to the ground with a grunt, looking up at his assailant.

Renkotsu smiled. "Found you, threeblood. Now I get to kill you." He raised his weapon to fire right at Inu-Yasha. Bracing himself against the ground, Inu-Yasha felt a surge of power as he launched himself forward, nearly ripping the man's arm off. Almost dropping his weapon, Renkotsu turned around to glare at the threeblood and pulled out a small dagger to try to stab him, while trying to lift his efficient but awkward weapon. But Inu-Yasha was ignoring him. 

He began jogging towards Kagome, who hadn't seem him yet. Knocking another youkai aside and feeling as though he were in a bad movie, Inu-Yasha was just about to call out her name when three things happened. 

First, Jakotsu's snake-like sword shot out, catching one of the wolf demons right through the chest and severely wounding the other. As the sword jerked back blood spattered everywhere, causing Kagome to scream and back up.

Looking up to see where both the scream was coming from and Inu-Yasha was headed, Renkotsu noticed the girl and raised his weapon. 

Inu-Yasha started to run forward faster, faster than he had ever run before but then something whistled past him and Kagome looked up just seconds before everything around her exploded. 

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha ran frantically around, searching through the dust. A whistling noise came to his left and he ducked just as another projection flew over his head, exploding a nearby rock. Inu-Yasha darted, trying to find his way through the smoke by use of hearing alone, since the dust clogged his eyes and prevented use of any scent. He broke free from the cloud only to be hit by the strong scent of blood, strong enough to send him reeling backwards. He took a few halting breathes, trying to hold back the rancid vomit as he swallowed, trying to get used to such an over-powering smell. He could see the blood on the ground too, so thick it was nearly black. 

            "Almost artistic, isn't it?" Inu-Yasha snapped his head over to the speaker, the bald Shichinin-tai member smiling as he leaned on one knee, the large missile weapon leaning heavily on his shoulder. "The fire, the dust, the blood and the screams. The girl's added a nice pitch, I think."

            "You fucking.. oh kami, no…" Inu-Yasha head reeled as he tried to find Kagome's scent in the blood, but it was too thick and overpowering. He looked frantically around, seeing only the odd pieces of the wolf army and dust. 

            "Well, it looks like your turn. Jakotsu's going to be so disappointed." The mortal said, lifting his weapon. Inu-Yasha looked over to see it pointed right at his head. The adrenaline was making his head reel and his vision was going blurry from the stench. He took a step back, taking deep, ragged breathes. This man killed Kagome…

            "Good bye, Inu-Yasha…" The mortal said, taking aim. 

            Inu-Yasha's blood was pumping in his ears. This man killed Kagome. He had to kill him. He clenched his claws, not noticing the scent of the blood, or his wounds, the dust or anything. Just Renkotsu…

   He felt a familiar tingle in his blood and clenched his claws, nearly grinning. Noticing the threeblood's strange behaviour, Renkotsu turned his head from the weapon a bit, looking at Inu-Yasha curiously. Inu-Yasha did grin then. 

"You just got me angry." He snarled clenching and unclenching his claws, feeling the power surge through him. His vision began to turn red and he felt himself getting stronger, and feeling he was enjoying extensively at the moment. "And you're not gonna like me when I'm angry."

Renkotsu didn't even have time to question when his body was turned into three pieces. Grabbing his weapon before it even hit the ground, Inu-Yasha forcefully bent it in half and pounded Renkotsu's skull to smithereens. He then threw the weapon away, hitting something but he didn't know what, or really care much for that matter. 

Looking at his claws he grinned and started laughing. This was more like it! The power to kill in one single slash, unlike his normal, weakling self. One could get used to this, he thought, looking for more things to kill and delighting in all the demons around him. Remembering something tickling him at the back of his brain, he glanced over and saw Jakotsu. 

Jakotsu looked from Renkotsu's body to Inu-Yasha, to Renkotsu's body to Inu-Yasha flexing his claws and looking ready for round two. In a blink of an eye Jakotsu folded up his weapon and waved. "Inu-kun, I don't like you like this! I'm leaving!" He vanished before anyone had time to ask what was going on. Foe and allie alike looked at Inu-Yasha, who looked a bit disappoint. Then he grinned again. 

"Kagome!" Shippo ran into the still settling smoke, finding the girl, semi-conscious but barely wounded. She looked up dizzily at the fox-child as he ran up, grabbing her arm and pulling. "Kagome, we have to get you out of here!" 

"What, why?" Kagome asked, her dizziness still confusing her but the worry clearing her head up. She remembered seeing Inu-Yasha before she had nearly been hit by the bomb… "Shippo, where's Inu-Yasha?!"

"That's why we gotta get you out!" Shippo exclaimed, pulling harder. "Inu-Yasha's gone insane!"

"What?" Kagome felt her heart stop. Inu-Yasha had gone feral again… oh kami, what would he do this time? Would she even be able to stop him? She unconsciously put a hand to the scratches on her face. 

"It would appear so, Kagome." Miroku said, helping the girl up. He nodded his head and Kagome looked over to where Inu-Yasha was beating something unknown but floppy and bleeding enough for Kagome to guess. His eyes were red again, and he was grinning like a maniac with huge fangs. He had gone full demon again, but this time it was different.

"Guys, it's not like last time!" Kagome said, trying to push Miroku aside and reach her guardian, but the monk wouldn't let her. "Miroku! Let me go! I have to go talk to him!"

"He'll kill you!" Shippo argued. 

"No he won't!" Kagome argued. "He's… he's…. he's in his head! Last time it was like it was just the demon controlling him, but this time he seems reachable! He's aware!"

"If he's aware why is he helping out those other two by killing our allies?" Miroku said plainly. Kagome watched as Miroku's point was proven when Inu-Yasha killed a wolf demon and started cutting it up to pieces, laughing. Kagome suddenly felt very ill and sat down. The area was quieting, as all of the enemy youkai had quickly left. But Kouga's wolves didn't know whether they should leave or not as one by one they were getting slaughtered. 

"Inu-Yasha!" The crazed demon turned to look and see Kouga, battered and bleeding but standing there defiantly, Jakotsu's old, normal sword in his hand. "What the fuck do you think you're doing! You're killing my fucking men!"

"But they aren't men," Inu-Yasha smiled chillingly. "They're pussies, I already told you that."

It took Kouga a few minutes to register that. "Wait a… you know what you're doing! You bastard, get a hold of yourself!"

"Make me." Inu-Yasha crossed his arms. "I'm strong now, really strong. Not the sstupid, weakling threeblood anymore. I'm Inu-Yasha, a full demon with more power than even my stupid fucking uncle Sesshoumaru. I'm going to kill every last fucking one of you and I'm going to enjoy it."

End Chapter 40

Wow, that the probably the worst battle scene I've ever written. And then beginning of the end. It's so drastic. Careful my dear readers, for you are witnessing the end of an era. And the beginning of Ama's stranger and stranger rants on Guardian Angel. Maybe out of my hours of boredom, since I have nothing better to do and this will end during the summer, I'll draw a big chibi poster, because chibis are easy to draw. And I'll give it to all of my faithful readers who review the last chapter. Twice. *maniacal, egotistical grin* How's that for incentive. Oh, I know you don't care…

The rest of the shoutouts:

**Ayame**: Everybody calls me a panda. And that was made to confuse you. And it worked! HAH! I win! And I never made up anything about anyone! You are actually in an asylum! You in it right now, you just don't know it. They're playing with your mind…. MIND….. Kirby dance! (") (") hee hee hee. I rule! I win! Anime North is NOT stupid. Cons rule. I'm also going to CNAnime. And I'm meeting Fred Gallagher. Megatokyo rules. I'm going to hug him. NYA!

**SimplyTurquoise**: Yes… no.

**link no miko**: I call him Inu-kun when I'm too lazy to write Inu-Yasha. Well, at least someone noticed Mizuki's raindace. I love that scene, I think it's really cute. I love my Mizuki. Love, love, love. And that one-liner was made up on the spot. Don't you love them? They're my strongest suite so yay! Kouga's so funny. I love him. And fear not my friend! For though the end may be drawing near, it just means greater things shall happen! … I hope. And who cares whether or not Jakotsu's right, wrong or psychotic? I like him just the way I portrayed him, and if it's my fault I watched too much Gravitation a few weekends ago then so be it. But he's so cute! Especially when he misses and glomps Kouga instead. Poor, confused wolf-boy. And I tend to talk funny when I'm in a rush. RUSH! Yes, I am in a rush. And I can't think of anything to say really in this shoutout. And my head hurts. And I love Pocky. It's nummy. There's a Trigun thingy like Otakudom? Really? And an EVA? I must see these. Must see…. Yay, AS! And now you got me hooked on Hikaru no Go! Curse you! But it is funny… and pretty. I like the pretty art. Now the Japanese should lay off their crack. By half. And give it to me. Yes…. And people will die. Maybe Kagome. Maybe Inu. Maybe even Mizuki! *dramatic gasp for effect* Okay, I'm tired. POCKY!

Preview Chapter 41: Fury

                "Moron, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Kouga snarled, trying to get in the way of Inu-Yasha and the rest of the world. "You moron, you're bleeding like shit! Now sit down and stop thi-" 

                Inu-Yasha grabbed Kouga by the throat, dragging him forward and glaring at him. "Stay the fuck out of this." He growled, throughing the already wounded enough wolf-demon down to the ground and moving forward at a steady but fast pace.

                "I don't know what's worse," Netsuna mused aloud, with worry. "Him when he's feral and lost his mind completely, or him in his full mind, angry as hell and with this kind of power. He's winning enough fights for us, but unless we get a miracle to bring Kagome back, he's gong to do this until he dies."

End Preview.

Well everyone, that's my appearance for this week. Stay turned to Guardian Angel, same GA time, same GA website! *flies away*

~Ama

Quotacular: You're looking a little wet. How 'bout I dry you off…. With my PANTS! ~JFK from Clone High, also the most favourite quote of one of my friends. 


	41. Chapter 41: Fury

Disclaimer: This product is not owned by Ama, except the follow characters who you know you will never seen in the Inu-Yasha manga/anime. If they appear, I'm suing _their_ buts!

Hey everyone! For some odd reason FFN didn't post up the latest chapter (angry face!), so I took the time to revamp it a bit and re-post it. Because of this, and my brand new kitty-kat (insert name here) I'll be posting today and tomorrow. Kitty! I got a new kitten! Oh, I'm so happy! *squeals and kugs _name*_

So that's last week's update today, and today's update tomorrow. Two chapters in two days. Maybe a third on Friday, since it's the summer and I have NOTHING else to do. Except play DDR Konamix until I can finally get Salamander out of my head. Or playing with my kitty. KITTY!

Chapter of Monday!

**Chapter 41:**

** Fury**

            "What did you say?" Kouga asked, taking a step back. He clenched his grip on the sword he had picked up from where Jakotsu had left it, trying not to look as nervous as he felt. Inu-Yasha just kept grinning, idly shaking his hands as blood shook off of them. His eyes had turned completely red, with a thin blue iris and where reflecting absolutely nothing but insanity. 

"You're scared, I can smell it you idiot." Inu-Yasha said loosely, causing the wolf demon to growl in retaliation. Inu-Yasha chuckled. "You really think you actually have a chance against me, wolf? Look at me! I'm not some weakling threeblood, I'm a pure-blooded demon now! You think Sesshoumaru's bad? He's not even half of what I am. I could pull your entire skeleton out and now even break a sweat. Hell, I could probably do it without you even knowing."

Kouga desperately tried to think of something to say or do to save himself, realizing just what of a situation he had gotten himself into. He looked around, trying to find an opening or a miracle as Inu-Yasha kept talking.

"You piss me off wolf and now I'm going to teach you a lesson. Think I like have you and your stinking men around? Think I like you hitting on Kagome like the horny animal you are?"

"You leave her out of this." Kouga snapped.

"She's mine, dammit." Inu-Yasha growled, his expression darkening. "Or she would have been if you and your men weren't so fucking incompetent and now she's dead! Just a bloodspot on this stupid realm. Because you screwed up!"

"You're her guardian!" The wolf demon retaliated. Inu-Yasha froze and clenched his claws, growling. 

"I am really going to enjoy this…" He said, taking a step forward. "I'm going to rip out your heart and tear it to shreds while it's still beating. And then maybe I'll tear you to shreds and stomp all the pieces into the ground. How would you like that, wolf?"

"You're insane." Kouga growled. Inu-Yasha smirked. 

"Maybe. But I'm not the one who's going to die, am I?"

With his self satisfied smirk disappearing, Inu-Yasha suddenly sprung forward, claws ready to tear Kouga to bits. The wolf general had just barely enough time to swing out of the way and try to attack him with his sword. 

Inu-Yasha grabbed the sword in his hand, clenching onto it as he pulled it right out of the wolf demon's grasp. Tossing the weapon away, and ignoring the deep cut on his palm, Inu-Yasha grabbed Kouga by the throat, dragging him forward until they were nose to nose. 

"Inu-Yasha!" Shippo bit as hard as he could on the dog-demon's ear, beating at his head with his tiny fists as well. The move worked, shocking Inu-Yasha so much he dropped Kouga to try and pry the little fox kit off of his head. He finally managed to, ripping out some hair and damaging his ear further as he pulled the writhing Shippo off, but Inu-Yasha was a bit beyond caring at this point. 

"You want to die first?" Inu-Yasha smiled. Shippo went completely still and silent for a moment, suddenly realizing just how frightening Inu-Yasha was full demon and up close. Red eyes glaring, Inu-Yasha looked ready to kill Shippo. "Now you li-"

"Inuyashaitskagome!" Shippo blurted out in one fast string, wondering why his heart wasn't exploding yet. Inu-Yasha paused as he tried to pry that sentence apart and then his eyes narrowed. 

"Shut up fox." He growled. 

Shippo clenched his fists and tried to look brave. "Shut up? She's in danger! You have to save her, not killing other people!"

"Danger?" Inu-Yasha threw Shippo hard against a rock. "_Danger?_ Open your fucking eyes, fox, she's not in danger she's dead! Gone for fucking good! She's not here anymore, and she'll never be back! So just give it up!"

Shippo raggedly picked himself up. "You get out of your denial already! You're nothing but a brooding idiot who thinks everything's their fault because they're screw ups to begin with! Kagome's not dead, she just got kidnapped two minutes ago and if you hadn't been killing everyone you would have noticed!" He tried to catch his breath, wincing as he rubbed the back of his head.

Inu-Yasha's expression changed as he looked like he was having a war with himself. Crouching down and clutching his head he seemed to be muttering as everyone around looked at themselves in slight confusion. Suddenly Inu-Yasha jumped up again and grabbed Shippo's collar. 

"Who?!" He snarled. Shippo frantically tried to remember the description. 

"um… um… um… well there was two of them, one was all in black and had red eyes and that's about all I could tell and he never spoke and was really creepy and the other guy had dark skin and blue hair and was tattooed and had a spear and was wearing armour and had a funny accent and had a symbol on his chest armour that looked like…. Like…. Like….." Shippo tried to get a good image when he saw Kouga. "Like that!" He pointed at the symbol on Kouga's battered and bloody chestplate. 

Inu-Yasha glared at Kouga as the wolf demon ignored the dog and tried to remember the description. The first was obviously a trespasser but the second…. "Mizuki." He suddenly realized right then. "What the hell was that bastard thinking?"

"Who?" Inu-Yasha said, dropping Shippo. 

"Mizuki is the head general of Sesshoumaru's army." Kouga explained, his expression as dark as Inu-Yashas. "And that was a trespasser he was with, but it's not ours. The one Sesshoumaru hired had really bright green eyes, not red ones. It looks like Mizuki betrayed us."

"And he's the one that took Kagome?" Inu-Yasha to Shippo, who was once again trying to stand up.

"Yeah." Shippo squealed when he was knocked over again. 

"Oy! Dog! Where are you going?!" Kouga said to Inu-Yasha's receding form. The dog demon said nothing. 

"Let him go." Netsuna said, jumping down from her perch where she had been watching all this. "He can't go that far and if Kagome and the others are anywhere within twenty miles of here he should be able to find them. So all we need are a few good canines to follow _his_ tracks."

Kouga eyed the cat demon warily. "And where were you the entire fight?" 

"Fighting." Netsuna snapped back. "Now do you wanna find Kagome or do you wanna get there to late? Move it, Wolfy." She pushed him forward non-too-gently. Kouga let out a growl but reluctantly waved to the rest of his remaining men, motioning them forward. The wolf soldiers didn't seem to keen on following a nearly-crazed threeblood-now-demon that had killed half their brethren, but one glare from Kouga silenced any hesitations. 

"Hey kid, you okay?" Netsuna asked Shippo as the fox kit got lifted up by Kirrara. 

"I'm fine." Shippo snapped back, when Miroku put a hand on his head to silence him. The angel looked up at his task in confusion as Miroku shook his head. Netsuna watched the exchange with a slight smile as they started walking. 

"Well aren't we the little peace-maker?" She asked, noting also the unconscious Sango leaning against him wrapped in what remained of Miroku's cloak. Miroku's face reddened slightly and he scratched his head. 

"Just trying to keep the situation from getting any worse." He said. Netsuna chuckled, as if at a private joke. "Oh, I'm going to miss this."

"Pardon?" Miroku asked.

Netsuna just smiled secretively. "Nothing. If I told you I'd have to kill you."

"Oy, I think she's waking up."

"How brilliantly observant of you. Any normal being would simply think that her moving and opening her eyes were simply another form of sleep."

"You get off from being sarcastic, don't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"… I really hate the whole fucking lot of you."

"Watch your language in front of a lady Mizuki, she's waking up."

"Oh, how observant of yo-"

"Using someone's own jokes against them is a low even I didn't think you would succumb to."

"Fuck you."

"Language!"

Kagome's head felt like she had been hit by a ton of bricks going at a few hundred miles an hour. Groaning she tried to sit up, stars flashed before she closed eyes and a sharp pain went through her neck. She let out a slight cry as she fell back to the ground. She could dimly sense two beings near her… one was a demon that felt slightly familiar and another one was something… she couldn't place exactly what it was, not angel, mortal or demon, not even threeblood. She was trying to place it when a hand touched her shoulder. She tried to open her eyes to the dim light of hell, blinking at the spots that appeared. Slowly everything came into focus and she found herself staring into light green eyes. Knowing fully well and for sure that she didn't know anyone with green eyes, except for Netsuna and her eyes were a much more brilliant colour.

The owner of the eyes grinned and looked at someone else Kagome couldn't see. "There, she's awake. Happy?"

Kagome tried to sit up, dimly remembering the past few occurrences before her memory went blank, such as Inu-Yasha going berserk, her trying to reach him when suddenly she felt a strange aura and then she was out like a light.

So that was why they both felt familiar.

She started backing up, ignoring the fact that she was in no definite condition to run away and she couldn't even use her powers down here in Hell. The demon looked at her with a confused expression that reminded her of Inu-Yasha before everything had turned so horrible. He leaned towards her and Kagome realized she hadn't been able to move that far, not as much as she had thought.  The demon frowned as he looked at her. 

"You look different."

"You saw her in the dark and she has a few new scars, Mizuki." Another voice said, cold and sending a shiver through Kagome. She glanced over to see a black creature, with only brilliant red eyes as a distinguishable feature. Mizuki casually flipped the finger to the other demon and frowned as he looked at the three healing scars on Kagome's face. "Man, I thought you guys were super-heroes or something." He pouted and looked like he was tearing up.

"Mizuki, be serious." The black demon hissed. 

"I am serious!" The other snapped back. He went from a kneeling position to a cross-legged sitting, giving Kagome a better look at him. He had olive skin with light green eyes and blue hair tied in a complicated braid that went all the way down his back. His ears and the markings on his face were prominent, the former being jagged and looking almost like fins. He wore loose pants, a sash across his chest and a chest plate of armour that only covered half his torso, giving Kagome a good view of all the tattoos he wore. But the symbol on the chest plate drew her attention, as she recognized it immediately. 

"Sesshoumaru!" She gasped aloud. Mizuki blinked, looked down at his chest plate and whistled.

"Right. Forgot that." He said, sounding embarrassed. Kagome looked at the trident-like weapon he held and blanched. "You're that demon that Inu-Yasha fought before we came into Hell!"

"Eh, girl's got a good memory, don't she?" Mizuki grinned like a high-school boy. "Of course, how can one forget my dashing looks?"

"Most people banish traumatizing memories from their mind."

Mizuki shot a glare at the black demon. "Listen, I'm going to stab you any second now."

The black demon shrugged. "Go ahead. It won't make any difference."

Mizuki glared murderously at the other demon before sighing dramatically and batting at his nose, looking at the shadow demon out of one eye, the other squinted shut. "Ne, I don't know what to do with you people. You're so annoying." He whined. 

Kagome blinked at the kappa's sudden mood swing before coughing loudly. "Um… so why am I here?"

"Eh?" Mizuki looked back at her and jumped, as if he had forgotten she was there. "Oh, right! You! Well, basically we kidnapped you."

Kagome blinked again.

"Oh don't worry, you'll be perfectly safe and everything, absolutely nothing to worry about. In fact, we did this for your own good, not a good idea to keep you near Inu-Yasha while he's all 'ooh, look at me I'm crazy and killing stuff', you know? Hey, do you smoke?"

Kagome slowly shook her head at the last question, trying to figure out everything Mizuki had just told her. The kappa sighed. 

"Damn. Whatta way to die. Well, I suppose you want a more detailed explanation?" The kappa asked, suddenly seeming more serious. 

"Well, that would be nice." Kagome said meekly, wondering if she was going to die. Mizuki looked quite serious now. 

"Well basically you guys were moving too slow down here. The mortal realm's getting the pojies kicked out of it and it'll be looking a lot like down here soon, except wetter, if something doesn't happen fast. You're supposed to be saving the world, not prolonging it's fate. So, Broody and I decided to, eh, 'speed you up' persay." He explained, glancing over at her to see what she'd say. 

"So you kidnap me to make the group move faster?" Kagome asked.  Mizuki nodded, sitting up one leg to lean on.  

"Well, actually it was more to get doggy threeblood movin', but the group would follow. We knew we had to act when we found out threeblood turned oneblood because he'd be able to withstand the heavy pressure of all the fighting before the big match and the end of the world."

Kagome looked up, startled at the last bit of news. "End of the world? I thought we were saving the world?!"

Mizuki looked at her, serious and pityingly, before placing a hand on her shoulder. "Kagome, was it? I've been with Sesshoumaru-sama my entire life and there are some things we just know. I've been trained for this since the day I could hold this spear." He shook the indicated weapon. "Kagome, I think it's time I told you a little story…" 

A swarm of giant insects rose from around the sixth gate, hundreds upon thousands of bee-like demons, heading straight towards Inu-Yasha. He bared his fangs and claws, running faster. The full demon had somewhere to go and nothing was going to stop him. 

"Get outta my fucking way!" he shouted, jumping straight into the swarm. Bees and bee parts flew everywhere as Inu-Yasha slashed his way through madly, oblivious to the wounds the bees were managing to inflict upon him in the process.

_"The part you already know if that Inu-Yasha's dad, Yasha, was the one that killed Naraku and won the Second Strike." Mizuki began. "But that's common knowledge, known by every angel, demon and dead mortal. What I'm about to tell you is the part they don't know. And you should."_

Inu-Yasha slammed into a rock to get the bugs covering him off, ripping away their stunned bodies if they didn't fall off on their own. More began covering him faster then he could tear them off, turning him into a giant, buzzing mass.

_"Yasha's father, Inu-Yasha's gramps, was a full demon, a real strong freak, would make Sesshoumaru-sama look like Jaken, that's how awesome he was. Died of a virus, things are funny that way. Anyway, he had children with a mortal before he croaked, one full demon, one full mortal and one half and half. Sesshoumaru, Onigumo and Yasha."_

Kouga ran forward at top speed, knocking the bugs away in mid-air. He couldn't see  Inu-Yasha anywhere in the mess and kept knocking the bugs back. The wolf soldiers joined in once they caught up, Netsuna helped with her claws and teeth, but all Miroku and Shippo could handle where knocking them back with Miroku's rod, while Kirrara bit with her fangs.

_"When Sesshoumaru turned 10, he decided 'screw the mortals' and left on his own, starting a story we won't get into right now. Yasha and Onigumo were okay at the beginning but then Onigumo started to get jealous of Yasha's strength and formed a gang against him and then their village got raided and their mum got killed and they ran away… you know, the whole sappy orphan story." Mizuki made a face. "Besides which, Yasha went to live in the forest and Onigumo started to play the bad guy, dealing with real evil demons and such and finally selling his soul for more power, screwy stuff happened and he turned into Naraku."_

Inu-Yasha broke apart all the insects, burning them within a meter range around him with a strange aura. Despite this the bugs kept on coming and he kept on fighting, taking a ton down with him, oblivious to his bleeding wounds. He was starting to look different.

_"You mean Naraku is Inu-Yasha's uncle?" Kagome gasped. Mizuki smiled coldly._

_"Aye, but I don't think he knows. When Yasha found out about the whole deal he got real pissed and then Naraku tried to take over the world, you know brothers, and the Second Strike happened. At the end of it Naraku did the biggest thing to piss Yasha off and he became the scariest thing to ever live and won the Strike."_

Inu-Yasha batted angrily at a few bugs but seemed to ignore them as they piled onto him. Kouga, the wolf soldiers and Netsuna stopped as all the bugs seemed to focus on Inu-Yasha. Quivering, Netsuna backed up to where Miroku and Shippo were watching.

"What is that?" Miroku asked the frightened looking guide.

"Run." Netsuna said. "Just run."

_"So what does all this have to do with me?" Kagome asked. Mizuki looked at her from under his hair, as if talking to a child. _

_"Kagome, what have you learned?" He said wearily. "Yasha's demon blood, Inu-Yasha's demon blood, is one of the strongest forces on these planes. But it's still not enough. We need to do something to make him go over the edge, to make him even stronger. We're using you to get him to Naraku's faster, to end this faster. You know what the final blow was, Kagome? Inu-Yasha's parents died in the Second Strike. Kanake died first. Yasha died second. You and Inu-Yasha are the spitting image of his parents and everything's working out _exactly the same. _Do you understand now?"_

_Kagome tried to figure it out, but Mizuki's tone was frightening her. He ran a clawed hand through his hair, before saying it._

_"We'll have to kill you."_

A giant explosion filled the area with blinding light.

End chapter 41

In case it wasn't clear, in the last section the normal font is what's happening at the sixth gate and the italic font is where Mizuki, Broody and Kagome are. Just clearing that up. Think of one seen playing while the talking is overlaid. That's what I was going for, anyway.

And the next chapter's tomorrow! 

Oh, did anyone note that pratically all my male characters are topless now? Mizuki and Sesshoumaru are only covering half their chest with their armour. Kouga would be too, except his chest plate got totally trashed. Inu-Yasha's shirt vanished a while ago and Miroku's not wearing his robe anymore. So basically, the only guys in the story wearing shirts are Shippo, Kuro-Michi (well, he's a trespasser without any real body, kinda like NoFace from SA) and Naraku. I honestly didn't mean to do that. Well, Inu-Yasha and Sesshoumaru, yes, but not the others… *blinks* Well, not too many people are complaining, are they?

See you tomorrow, where BAD STUFF HAPPENS! *dramatic gasp for effect*

Oh, and write interesting reviews so I can return back to shoutouts. 

And link no miko, I need your email to send you the Link cosplay picture.

~Ama


	42. Chapter 42: Plot

Disclaimer: Nope.

*frowns* Now what the _heck_? I post and it doesn't show up? Why didn't anybody tell me about this, email or otherwise? Tsk, tsk, come on guys, if you want your chapters and they're not there, send angry emails to me. I'll understand. Well, I'll give you this one but it' short, since it was part of the double deal. Well, I've been a bit busy with my new kitten and work and all that jazz *hums* so I'll give you the next one probably on Friday or Saturday, so check when you want it then.

I have a brand new kitty and she's cute and adorable.

Shoutouts:

**Silver Magicraft:** Well, we'll have to see won't we? Sorry, this chapter's more talking and building up to the big plotline than anything else really. But it prolongs Kag's death, don't it? And Thank goodness nothing was wrong with that chapter. I died and then am finally starting to pick up steam. Whew.

**Kurokumo**:  Ayame? So you have an account now, eh? Or you always did and you just never used it? Eh, whatever. Hallo! So your dog's chewing on your foot? My cat's chewing on my toe. I guess we're even.

**Chanin**: Yep, all better now. *dies*

Story time!

****

****

**Chapter 42: **

**Plot**

For a two mile radius the ground was burnt and covered with ashes all over the ground. Pale smoke rose up from the mess, carrying a foul odour with it. Every rock was charred and chipped and the ash was piled in suspicious forms, becoming misshapen as the dank air slowly spread it over the flat earth. From above the ground seemed as if blasted by some type of explosion, hitting everything in a circular shape, surrounding a depression in the ground. Nothing moved except the smoke and the ground was completely flattened except the larger rocks that had survived the blast. One of the pillars of the sixth gate remained at the center, melted and misshapen, steaming as movement appeared near the base.

One lone figure stood up.

"K… k… You have to _what_?" Kagome asked in disbelief, backing up warily. Mizuki frowned.

"Geese, make me look like the bad guy." He nearly pouted. "It's not like I _want_ to or anything."

"But… But…" Kagome began to feel dizzy.

"It's not personal, just history." The shadowy black demon spoke up, moving to stand beside Mizuki. There was something gleaming in it's red eyes that Kagome really didn't like. "You see, the last thing Naraku did before he died was kill Kanaka-sama, now you, and thus caused Yasha-dono, now his son, to increase his power tenfold. I call it the 'super-hero factor'."

"You would." Mizuki made a face before turning back to Kagome. "Listen, we hate this idea as much as you do… well, maybe a bit less than you, being we're demons and you're the one dying and your'e a girl and everything, god they have weak stomachs, except those bitchy ones, but anyway we hate the idea pretty close as much as you do."

"You're babbling again."

"Hey, I don't kill often, okay?" Mizuki snapped, chewing idly on his tongue. "Unless it was for promotion."

"Why do you have to kill me?" Kagome asked and seeing Mizuki's eyebrow twitch she added hastily. "I mean, I know why, but I want to know why _you_."

Mizuki wrinkled his nose. "Naraku's an ass."

What the kappa means is that he knows better." The shadow explained at Kagome's confused expression, while Mizuki muttered something about 'I'll –the kappa- your ass'. "Naraku's been studying this for as long as we have, so he's been trying to kill you before hand, and now that he can't he'll do his best to ignore youand keep you alive. He knows better than to make the same mistake twice."

"So that means you guys have to kill me?" Kagome asked worriedly. She was beginning to feel quite faint. "But won't Inu-Yasha try to kill you too?"

Mizuki held up a finger. "Ah, but we've thought even farther ahead that Naraku has, as you can see. So we figure we'll either throw you in the way of one of his attacks and let him kill you, or kill you and throw you in the fray and let dog-boy come to his own conclusions. I mean, he's going completely crazy, he won't notice anyway."

Kagome's face hardened. "HE IS NOT CRAZY!" She shouted a bit too loudly, immediately regretting it when spots began to dance before her eyes. Mizuki put a hadn on her shoulder to steady her, one hand over his ear. 

"Easy girl, you're still a mortal, even if you got a voice like a siren. The Seven did a pretty nasty job on you, and I don't think my knocking you out helped the matter much…" He scratched the back of his head, flustered. Wrinkling his nose he glanced back at the shadowy demon, who seemed distant and lost in thought. "Eh Broody, got some news for us?" He asked in a half-hearted tone that indicated he was quick to change the subject.

After a moment the shadow's eye shone a bit after being a touch glazed and it looked up at them, suddenly giving Kagome the impression that it was smiling. "Everything is going according to plan." It said coolly. "In fact, it's advancing quite nicely."

"Son of a dog, my head hurts." Netsuna rubbed her slightly signed head mournfully, her earrings jangling as she flickered her ears. "Fuck, how'd he get so… so… _strong_? Ow…" She sucked on a cut finger, looking at the unconscious angels, mortals and demons. Glancing and Kouga and wondering whether or not to wake him up via kicking method, she decided it would be nicer if she rested a bit and helped her throbbing head calm down. Sitting against a rock she rubbed her temple ruefully. No sooner had her throbbing skull started to calm than another force pressured her mind.

"Fuck off, my head hurts." She groaned aloud. 

_We're in an unpleasant mood, my dear. Obviously something happened to get you in such a row, although with your temper it certainly can't be much. But still, you're supposed to be reporting. Now come on._

"Can't I get a minute to clear my head first?"

_Oh, come on, it couldn't have been that bad._

"He EXPLODED you git! He fucking exploded and blasted Hell to hell! How could I _not _be in pain!" The cat demon snapped angrily into thin air, flattening her ears and balling a fist against her forhead. "Kami, next time I see you I'm so going to…"

_How?_

"Ne?"

_How did he explode? Was it A-bomb type explode or bits and pieces of threeblood all over the place explode?_

"Oh? A-bomb."

_Well, that's good news at least. Exactly how big of a radius?_

"How the hell am I supposed to tell? I'm not a fucking geographer or mathematician or anything like that, I can't just guess by looking. I'd have a better chance of tell if I was airborn or high up, but he killed all the tall rocks around here!"

_Considering I have three, technically four, sources to report to it would be very kind if you could hold your temper and guess._

"Eh… six me-lengths."

_Thank you, my dear, kind and patient sister._

"Oh, go turn into a bug and get stepped on."

_I love you too. Oh, and 'Micky' gives his best._

"Ya, well tell him if he does anything to Kagome I'll personally make sure he talks like Jaken for the rest of his life."

_I'll be sure to tell him. Good luck and don't get blown up again. Oh, and sister…?_

"Yes?"

_You are aware you've shared your part of the conversation aloud._

Netsuna growled but the presence had already left her mind. Running a finger along her many hoop earrings on her left ear, she listened to the jangling noises as it slowly calmed her. The feline demon sighed and picked and preened at her tattered clothing and mussed up fur and hair before standing up and walking over to Kouga, nudged him gently with her foot.

"Oy, wake up." She said, prodding him a bit harder when he didn't move.

"Ne… what?" Kouga groggily opened one eye and then the other, blinking a few times at the cat demon before sitting up. He clutched his head  painfully, undoubtedly suffering from the same headache as Netsuna had had. 

"Inu-Yasha's gone. We have to go find him, pronto." Netsuna said, helping him up. "Start waking up your troops, I'll get the others."

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken stumbled through the corridors, trying to keep up with the Fourth Lord as he walking surprisingly quickly through the empty halls of his castle.  "Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken croaked as he tripped over his own robes, quickly trying to jump back up and was now even more hopelessly behind the demon.

"Leaving so soon?" A voice stopped Sesshoumaru right in his tracks and just his distance saved Jaken from tripping over his robes again and falling right into Sesshoumaru's legs, undoubtedly tripping the demon Lord in the process. 

That'd be bad.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as he looked at the old blacksmith, sitting calmly and cross-legged beside the door that led to the exit of the castle. The demon Lord sniffed haughtily, placed a hand on the hilt of his longer sword and turned as if to keep moving. "This is none of your concern." He said.

"Your war is not here, Sesshoumaru-sama." The old demon said calmly, once again pausing Sesshoumaru. The Fourth Lord bristled. "Did you not feel that great amount of power?" He hissed. "That is something this Lord will not sit idly for. Everything is happening too closely and I'm not about to repeat it so!"

"You mean the perfect replication of the Second Strike?" The old demon said in a cool tone, not looking at the near fuming Lord. "Your reincarnated brother fighting against your nephew who is the spitting image of his father? You can't change what was already scripted, Fourth Lord. This is no longer in your power, despite what you may have believed."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed and his hand clenched somewhat as he kept walking straight out the door, Jaken stumbling behind him. The old blacksmith sighed and shook his head, standing up and leaning heavily on his cane as he began moving upstairs. 

"Leaving an old demon and a young girl be themselves. I'm surprised at you, Sesshoumaru-sama."

"There has to be another way." Kagome kept arguing but Mizuki shook his head. 

"No alternative that I can think of." He shrugged. "Sorry. But it's either Naraku dies with you, or he kills you and he lives. It's a lose-lose situation for you maybe, but not for the rest of existence. So what would your choice be?" The kappa spoke so calmly and his logic was so, well, logical Kagome felt no choice but to glare darkly at him. Mizuki merely shrugged helplessly again. "Listen, it's your choice and I can't force you to do anything. My boss, however…."

"Sesshoumaru." Kagome was beginning to see why Inu-Yasha wasn't fond of hid pompous uncle.

"Yeah, he's kinda just a bit forceful that we get everything perfect and to the letter on this one. I mean, you can't blame him, if this works out as it should he'll end up ruling all three existences." Mizuki seemed about to continue when his expression turned thoughtful and he tapped a fang, suddenly realizing his point in his words.

"Oh, what a great thing to die for." Kagome said sarcastically, her expression darkened. Mizuki caught her tone and looked at her with a touch of shock, then shook his head.

"Hey, Sesshoumaru-sama's a great leader, behind the smart attitude. All three existences would benefit from his rule. He's fair and level-headed, not to mention one hell of a tactician. Not that there'll be any wars while he's around, I'm just saying."

Kagome wasn't convinced.

Mizuki sighed. Why were women always like this? "Listen Kagome, this -" 

"Mizuki." The shadow's harsh voice interrupted their conversation. Kagome looked at the other demon and blinked in surprise. She was almost certain that it's eyes had changed their shape, but it was hard to tell now as it turned to look at them. It's eyes passed right over Kagome, as if she wasn't worth even noticing as it began to talk to Mizuki.

"Some deadly this way comes." It said in a sarcastic tone. It's eye flickered over to Kagome before it returned it's gaze to the kappa. "We should take her and leave."

"Right." Mizuki nodded, turning back to the slightly miffed, confused and worried girl. "Listen Kagome, I know you hate the idea and everything but neither of us have a choice. I wouldn't do this if I did, but we all have to do what we all have to do. Although… Well, I really hate being the bad guy."

And with that, he knocked her out.

Inu-Yasha gripped his bleeding wound on his side painfully as he limped through the bleak desert, followed some path his mind convinced him of. Blood spatter behind him, leaving a trail that led into the hazy distance. 

Panting heavily, his eyes drooping, he tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground, blood dripping into a steady pool around him. He dug his nails into the ground, feeling anger swell up inside of him at his weakness, digging furrows into the earth. 

Some sixth sense alerted him and he looked up, his sharp vision focusing on something in the distance. His strength suddenly renewed, he jumped up and began walking as quickly as he good, leaving the puddle of blood behind him as he headed to his destination.

The seventh gate.

And Kagome.

End chapter 42

Attention everyone! It's come to my attention that I'm a hopeless, non-updateable git. So as a little something, I've decided that I'm going to give you pressies! Anyone that reviews and gives me their email I'll send a little chibi picture of Mizuki and Netsuna… really cute! And since I've been getting a lot of positive feedback about Mizuki, I've decided that if you guys even tell my that you love him (and give me your email) I'll send you a full colour picture of him!

This is not a way to stalk you. I promise.

Shoutouts:

**Litwolf689:** Okay, Kuro-michi is a trespasser that works for Naraku, with red eyes. 'Broody' is just a name Mizuki gave the trespasser who's with him because he doesn't know his real name and is sort of making fun of him. This trespasser also has red eyes. Trespassers cannot change their eye colours. See a conection? Kuro-michi is the name of the Naraku's trespasser. Sesshoumaru's never really was given a name, but I think I've bloody hinted enough in this chapter for you to figure it out.

**link no miko**: YES! I gave Shippou a bloody purpose! Aren't you happy? And now you love Mizuki? But… but… he's mine! I made him! I created him! Oh… wait… I have a cloning machine. *clones the kappa* There ya go. Happy now? Ya, Mizuki's dialogues are really fun and easy to right, especially with the trespasser to piss him off. *grins* And no, you weren't excepted to except Onigumo as Iun's uncle. Or Sesshy's brother. *shudders* So how do you feel about Netsuna now? Your suspicions confirmed? And your picture should come in at around 7am eastern time tomorrow. That's the only time I'll be able to scan. Sorry for the late ^-_-^;

And now, I have to go and finish the next chapter for Friday. But be warned! Someone DIES! (And I'm not being cheap and killing off some random character that just appears for a certain amount of time, like Hatonomaboroshi. [I don't remember if I spelled that right] A main character is going to die.)

And with that happy note, I leave.

~Ama

Quotey-mc-quotequote: Caffeine isn't a dietary supplement. It's a food group.


	43. Chapter 43: Death

Disclaimer: Hey, how long ago did my disclaimers stop being disclaimers? I think at around chapter 10 I made my point anyway. The only things I own here, are the concept, Netsuna, and everyone's favourite kappa, Mizuki. 

Hey everyone! Little news flash, FFN broke down, crashed, wouldn't show up. And without it, I can't post a story! So gomen-ne my friends, I don't know why but some big guy in the sky don't like me. And I'm kinda rhyming, for some reason. Anyhoo, been busy with the kitty and work, so things have been REALLY crazy. But I got to see Finding Nemo! ^_^ And Then I spent 170$ at a comic shop, buying a ton of manga and a Sesshoumaru wallscroll. He now watches me when I sleep. I'm scared. 

Sweet Bishes! I don't know why but I have nearly three times as many reviews for that chapter! I think the Mizuki picture was good incentive… hmm…. Well, that means this is going to be one frikin' long page, because I have to write to everyone…. Ye gods. So your shoutouts will be short, to preserve the minds of those reading for the first time when they come across this chapter. Holy smite….

Shoutouts:

_Note: one anonymous reader pointed out that technically, Inu's grandpa and grandma (a full demon and full human) should only have a hanyou child, not also a pure demon and pure human. Well, sure, that doesn't make sense, but if we're trying to be biologically correct, it doesn't make sense for Inu's human or demon blood to take over at some point, making him completely one or the other, ne? So, demon blood is magic, this story doesn't make scientific sense to _begin_ with and we'll just leave it at that._

**Silver Magiccraft:** Okay, my spelling and grammer sucks! I never said I wanted to be an English major. And FFN's against me. *pouts*

**Litwolf689:** Yes, I updated! And I updated again, only this time it's late! I'm such a failure! I'm like Piro-san, only my update's suck, not my content! And to answer your question: There are only –two- trespassers in the story. One is Kuro-michi/'Broody', the other is unnamed and as green eyes. They are brother and sister. They change forms. I think I've spelled it out enough. And no, I won't hurt you for questioning. If you don't understand something, ask away!

**Fate:** Who's your evil guy? And did you like the pics?

**Foureyedbookworm:** Yeah, the non-logging-in-automatically thing is annoying, I despise it too. And yeah, we're gonna have to see how Kagome gets out of this one. And thank you for pointing out what my teachers have all these years: my spelling sucks. You see, what happens is I write it out on paper because the ideas flow easier and then I re-type it to the comp. The only problem is, I sometimes hit the wrong keys. And my kitten is sleeping on the computer desk beside me as I type *grin and pat*

**Tsuninoko:** Thank you. I like the effect of those two scenes too.

**midori318:** I shouldn't worry on how long it takes? Oh, that's so nice! Thank you! Although I do worry. ^-_-^;…

**Chocolate Eclar:** rhetorical question? *cough*yes*cough* And I'm fine now. Just some tests and stuff. Being stepped on by Godzilla doesn't do much for ya.

**Kurokumo:** Yay, you're fifteen and you're birthday's on Canada Day! Hurrah, good for you! I had to work then, so I missed all the pretty fireworks. *pout* And hamsters are evil. All of them. Kitties eat hamsters, which is good. They are not scary (cats, I mean)

**… (?) btwinkb-at-hotmail.com-gal: **Poor Kuro-michi, nobody loves him… *sniffs sarcastically* And kappa is a water-demon, which has a billion shapes, although they're supposed to be turtle/human-like. If you've seen Spirited Away, those round, yellow, duck-like things are kappas. There are kappas in Tenchi ni Narumon, which look like duck-frogs. The pokemon Golduck is a snazzy-looking kappa. _Jaken_ is probably a kappa. But my favourite kappa is Gojyo from Saiyuki, who is a chain-smoking, perverted kappa in human form, who our dear Mizuki is based after. Explain?

**chanin:** I mention everybody. And you find out who dies today. It's a bit sad, but I'm not really practiced with death scenes, so it might not be good either. 

Begin chapter

**Chapter 43: Death**

The atmosphere had seemed to be even colder as Mizuki glanced around the lifeless landscape warily, standing beside the form of the unconscious Kagome. He gripped his trident so hard his dark skinned knuckles were a pale and startling white. His eyebrows furrowed as he scanned Hell, more nervous from the lack of movement than from any sign of it. 

"See anything worth of interest?" The shadow demon came up beside him, dark and silent. Mizuki didn't seem amused at the demon's tone or play on humour; it seemed more mockery.  The kappa kept watch on the land beneath the seventh gate, watchful of something, anything that he hadn't already memorised. Noting Mizuki's reaction, the demon fell silent and they both watched the land for a moment before the shadow's red eyes narrowed unsettlingly. 

"We have more than one visitor., it would seem." It said darkly.

"What?" Mizuki glanced at it and then Kagome's form. "Did the group catch up to him already?"

"Only one." The black demon said. "The demon general Kouga."

"What?" Mizuki's head snapped over. "Kouga? You mean that little moron's still alive? Shit, I knew Sesshoumaru-sama sent him but now he's coming here? Oh kami…" He rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly, an unconscious habit he picked up from his Lord. "Shit."

" 'Shit' indeed." The other demon mused. "Consequently, he should not even be here. What exactly could Sesshoumaru be planning…?"

"I wouldn't ask if I were you." Mizuki grumbled. The demon looked shocked, and then smug. 

"Truly Mizuki, after all I've heard and seen, you would not strike me as one to blindly follow orders."

Mizuki flushed and glared at the trespasser. "Oi, I ain't 'blindly following orders' you twit. I trust Sesshoumaru-sama with my life and I know he's not feeding us bullshit."

The trespasser demon seemed mildly surprised. "I'm sorry if I've insulted you Mizuki." It said, yet somehow not seeming sincere. "I didn't realize how… strongly you felt of the subject."

Mizuki shot a glare at the trespasser, looking as if to say something and then closing his mouth again and returned back to looking for any intruders. "Feh." He muttered.

"And to think Sesshoumaru raised you." The demon said musingly, as if he were unaware of his taunting. Mizuki spun around angrily, his clam hazel eyes now a startling yellow.

"How the fuck did you know about that?" He hissed. The trespasser seemed unconcerned that the kappa's trident was grazing his jugular, instead pushing it aside delicately with on clawed finger, giving Mizuki an unpleasant look.

"My sister did, as you know she loves to gossip. If I were you I'd be flattered she's taking an interest."

Mizuki's dark face turned darker and he turned back to the landscape, looking around. "Listen, all this girly talk is probably wonderful for my feminine side, but don't we have something important to do? You know…" He made an impatient hand gesture as if unsure what he was talking about. "Oh… saving all life, time and space as we know it? Now why don't you put your gabby sis to use?"

The trespasser gave an indifferent look to Mizuki, which the kappa was almost convinced gave a flash of disgust, before it closed it's eyes. When it reopened them they were glazed over and narrowed, giving the already frightening demon a zombie-ish dead look, making Mizuki involuntarily shudder. The gales faded after a moment and the shadow looked at Mizuki as if nothing had happened. 

Mizuki waited a moment before it was obvious the trespasser wasn't going to say anything. He snorted, thought of some obscene things that could happen to the other demon and glared at him. "Well?" He snapped.

The trespasser seemed reasonably amused. "They still haven't found Inu-Yasha but he's left a perfect trail of blood, which doesn't seem to be vanishing at any time soon, so at least he's healthy." It smiled as if the whole thing were like a good book that he played no part in.

Mizuki tightened his grip on his spear and wondered if the trespasser's sister would forgive him if he killed her brother in a very gruesome way. "But…" He growled, indicating to the other to continue.

The trespasser's smile turned darker. "Kouga'll be here in about three minutes. In fact, I believe that if you look behind you you'll see a small dust cloud that could only be him."

"You alright?" Miroku asked. Netsuna, whom he had directed the question to, blinked and looked at him, nodded her head. 

"No, I mean yes, I mean… I'm fine, why?" She looked at the monk with a bit of worry and confusion.

Miroku tried to shrug, a difficult task when on was wounded and carrying an unconscious girl, riding on a large feline that was wounded and not meant for long distance travel. "You seemed out of it for a second." He said. 

"Oh, it's nothing." The cat demon shook her head. "I was just sorta thinking, since we can't travel that fast and all, following the blood trail and with Kouga up ahead."

"Thinking of what?" Miroku asked conversationally, obviously bored. The catgirl shrugged. "Stuff. The past, the future, the end of the world. You know, the normal stuff people think about in times like these." When Miroku gave her a quizzical look, she shrugged again, giving a half-hearted grin. "Hey, demons are invisible to mortal eyes, we can watch TV whenever we want, right?"

Miroku's eyes widened slightly as he realized something. "Invisible to mortals… why of course, why didn't I think of it before?!"

Netsuna rolled her eyes. "Pervert." She said, though not without a smile. "Although it does surprise me you didn't think of it before. Shippo probably tried to keep it as much of a secret as he could. What kind of angel would want to spend his first task watching girls undress?"

Miroku looked hurt and baffled. "I would."

"Then do a favour to all mortal girls and don't become a guardian angel." The demon sighed. She sniffed the air warily. "The blood's smell is getting thicker. Inu-Yasha must not be far ahead."

"Really?" Miroku leaned slightly over Kirrara's side to try and see the blood they were following, but nearly fell off as a result of his stiffness. He managed to regain his balance, but not before the dozing Shippo fell onto the ground with a dull thud. 

"Kya! Ah! Wha… wha… Where are they?! What's going on?!" Spinning around disoriented he walked right into a wolf soldier's foot. "Kyaaa! Kitsune-bi!" With a scream he set the soldier's foot on fire and scampered away, leaving a hopping and swearing demon. "Miroku! Mirokuuuu!!!!" The little fox angel squeaked as he spotted Kirrara's leg and climbed up it. "Miroku, Miroku, Miroku!" He attached himself to the shocked monk. "What the hell is going on?!"

"I'd like to ask the same question." Netsuna glanced back at the other demons, as the victim of Shippo's fright glared at them while hopping and blowing on his foot. "It's a good thing Kouga's not…" She trailed off, a strange look on her face. 

"What is it?" Miroku asked, after he had peeled his angel off of him and plunked the recovering Shippo on Kirrara's neck. He suddenly looked down at his arms, realizing that all the screaming and movement was waking Sango up. Well, at least they knew she wasn't in a coma. Putting a hand to her forehead, she made a grunting noise and tried to sit up, only to realize she couldn't in her position and that he whole body hurt so much she didn't really want to anyway. Rubbing her eyes either one hand, and finding some unpleasant dried blood on her forehead, she slowly opened her eyes, thankful for the not-so-bright light of Hell. 

"Ah, Sango-chan, you're finally awake." Miroku smiled warmly. Sango froze for a second and then instinctively struck out. Miroku put a hand to his cheek, looking hurt. 

"But Sango, I haven't done anything to deserve your wrath in the while you were sleeping. My honour is much higher that that. I am still a monk, after all." He said, looking completely dejected with large puppy eyes.

"I'm said it before, some monk." Shippo muttered to Kirrara, fluffing up his tail. Miroku ignored him and while Sango looked flustered. 

"But Houshi-sama, in our, eh, predicament, you can't really blame my reaction." She said, trying to sit up but giving up when pain flashed through her skull. She slumped against Miroku's chest in defeat, one hand to her temple before her head touched his shoulder and she realized at some point during the journey he had lost the top half of his robes. She turned red, but realized there was nothing really she could do, as she closed her eyes to prevent her constant double vision from making her headache from worse to horrible. She relaxed against the monk, who seemed to take this as an invitation to wrap his arms around her. She quickly held up a hand to stop his own. 

"I'm tired Houshi-sama, and you've already seemed to carry me. However, this isn't really the time, do you think?"

Miroku stayed his hand and smiled at the dozing girl. "Well then Sango-chan, what time do you suggest?"

Sango frowned. "Put your hand back before I feed it to Kirrara."

Miroku quickly pulled his hand back and hooked his staff around her abdomen instead to keep her steady. The ghost girl seemed to relax further, coming near sleep, while Miroku was grinning like an idiot. Kirrara glanced back and gave a snort. Shippo looked at the fire cat angel in confusion as she kept walking. "What?"

Kirrara gave another snort.

"Nevermind? Nevermind? Kirrara, we're both angels protecting our nearly second-dead tasks! And you're not giving information to me?"

Kirrara made a rumbling sound but kept walking steadily. Shippo crossed his arms. "I am not a worrywart." He muttered, preening at his tail again. Kirrara smirked a bit. 

"Houshi-sama?" Sango asked quietly, in a sleepy tone. Miroku, a bit shocked, looked down at her. "Where's Kagome-chan?" She said. 

"Inu-Yasha's gone to save her." Miroku said, feeling a peculiar lump in his throat. In the state he was in, Miroku wondered just hoe much saving the unstable threeblood could manage. The monk didn't seem to notice that he was rubbing Sango's arm as they spoke, and she didn't seem to care as she squirmed for a slightly more comfortable position. 

"Will she be safe?" The girl asked, making Miroku go tense. There were two things Miroku absolutely hated. One was lying, and the other was hurting girls. He stared at the back of Shippo's head in concentration, trying to figure out his answer, until the angel began to feel it and looked side to side a bit nervously. The dead monk felt something touch the bottom of his chin and he looked down to see Sango looking up at him, her eyes half-open and looking worried. "Houshi-sama?"

Miroku bowed his head, and then smiled, squeezing Sango's arm reassuringly. "Of course she will, Sango-chan. Of course she will."

Sango smiled and rested her head on Miroku's chest, falling asleep. 

Netsuna watched the pair out of the corner of her eye when she felt a peculiar tickle in the back of her mind. Snapping her head forward, she narrowed her eyes. _Took you bloody long enough. What were you doing?_

_Taking care of something._ The other voice said. Netsuna let out a small snort but couldn't help a tiny little smirk. 

_Some_thing_ or some_one? She thought smugly. The other voice chuckled. 

_You'll see when you get there. Now, what was it you wanted?_

Netsuna blinked for a moment, having forgotten her question. Shippo made a sneeze and she glanced over at the two angels and two humans and it flashed back to her. _Right! Say, bro, you know that little rule of the existences that demons can't use powers in Heaven and angels can't use powers in Hell? Well guess what…_

Kirrara glanced over at Netsuna from the corner of her eye, where the catgirl walked along completely normal, looking at the bland scenery and sniffing at the stench the blood left in the air, although every once in a while she would stare ahead, her eyes blanking. Growling softly Kirrara kept on as well, watching the feline demon like a hawk. 

Mizuki eyed the wolf general before him with one eyebrow raised, with a contemptuous look he could have only learned from Sesshoumaru. Kouga growled from the bottom of the rocky outcrop, clenching his fist, before glancing over at the trespasser who was sitting nonchalantly on the cliff beside Kagome's unconscious form. Kouga glared back at Mizuki. 

"You bastard." He growled, pointing Jakotsu's stolen sword accusingly. "You turned against us and stole Kagome for Naraku! You dirty piece of mud-sucking shit! I should kill you!"

Mizuki sighed. "Kouga, I didn't betray anyone, these are orders from Sesshoumaru-sama. Now if you don't mind, we're in a bit of a bind right now, with the end of the world hanging on our shoulders and an insane demon with the power to kill us in one fell swoop on our tails. So, if it's not too much, could you please run away and hide in Sesshoumaru-sama's castle like your little daddy did and just let this whole thing play out like it should?"

Kouga snarled. "What did you say?! I'm not leaving here without Kagome, so hand her over!"

Mizuki put a finger to his nose and sighed. "Right, I forgot the infatuation thing and that they're not married in this lifetime. Well, that can complicate stuff. Not leaving, are you? Well fine, but do you perchance smoke?"

"That dirty habit? Hell no." Kouga spat. "What are you, mocking me?"

Mizuki shrugged, as if helpless. "Ah well, not within my power. Sorry mate, no hard feelings, just the job. Broody, do me the favour, will ya? She's already afraid of you anyway, but I don't think she'll be to comfy if she wakes up and I have blood all over me."

The trespasser nodded and vanished. Kouga looked around frantically for the demon when a pain suddenly flashed through his chest and he looked down in horror to see a semi-transparent hand sticking out of it. 

Trespassers are said to love only two things: death and havoc. The red-eyed trespasser, having been a messenger and bench-warmer for the good part of the strike, had been hungering for a moment like this. Even Mizuki had to avert his eyes for the blood bath, before picking Kagome up and leaving, the trespasser following him silently, a smirk on his blood-spattered face.

 We'll see when we get there? Netsuna thought as she looked at Kouga's body with a frown. Brother, you are one sick bastard. 

"Great Buddha…" Miroku breathed when he saw the wolf demon. Already the blood around him was beginning to fade, his eyes dull and lifeless. 

"What is it, what is it?" Shippo asked, his voice trembling at everyone's sombre attitude as he jumped on Miroku's head to get a better look. "Wha-?" He froze, seeing Kouga's form. He began trembling fiercely, his taill puffing out to it's largest. "Miroku!" 

"What is it?" Sango asked but Miroku held her down, putting his hand over her eyes. "Housh-sama! What are you doing? Houshi-sama! Miroku!" She began squirming in protest but Miroku kept his hand firmly over her eyes. When the pain in her head and body became to much she stopped resisting, but was shaking a little. "Houshi-sama, what is it? What's wrong?" She asked, her voice trembling. Miroku didn't answer, staring at Kouga's body in grim shock. 

Netsuna sniffed for a bit as the body finally disappeared. "Well then, let's keep moving. Don't wanna find Inu-Yasha or Kagome next, do we?"

They set off under the non-exsitant dessert sun, as the dark clouds heralding the apocalypse slowly drew closer and rain began to set down on Sesshoumaru's empty castle.

End chapter 43

Well, that's about it. I'm really, really, really sorry to all Kouga fans. But unfortunately, he had to die. And doubly unfortunately, he's not the last. *is very sad* I already have 'the list' of those who leave and whatnot. I feel like that Rowling woman… do deadlines about as well too… *laughs nervously and eyes all the angry, irate readers who dislike her for her lateness* Eh, FFN screwed up! Beat, it, not me! And besides, if you kill me you'll never know what happens and it'll follow you to the GRAVE! Okay, death jokes aren't funny anymore. 

Eh… Pocky?

Shoutouts:

**Katsuhiko:** … okay!

**diamondtigress:** All main characters must die, they just never show it. In Excel Saga the main character dies seven times in the first episode! But anyway, I hope you liked the pics, and thanks for being diligent and emailing me! And your welcome for suck a wonderful story.

**Elf:** Yes… a lot of time… as in thinking about what should happen until Saturday night and then writing it out quickly! Actually, I just sit in my room and write. I don't even remember half the stuff I write until I re-write it on the computer. And don't worry, I'm pretty sure that's not shallow flattery. Everyone loves Mizuki. Which is funny, because he was only supposed to be a random general that appeared in one, maybe two chapters and look what he turned into! He's stealing the show! He has _fangirls!_ I actually created a characters that has fangirls! I've achieved one of my dreams! Now, if I could only move to Japan, destroy the Tokyo Tower and become ruler of the world, I'lll die happy.

**bigwooshin:** My kitty could kick your puppy's ass! Hah! And maybe I will kill one of Inu's ears. But how is a body-part a main character? Ama so confused… And they're killing Kagome because I'm sick and tired and writing out people who are 'pretended' to be dead, okay? That's why. I've done it like, twelve times already. You must be getting sick of it too.

**vold:** Well that was a luverly little suck up of Micky. You actually think Takahashi should buy him? Should I just become my own manga-ka as soon as I'm out of school and create a manga about him? Wouldn't I become richer that way? Um… *looks at your small tirade about people not dying* Sesshy lives. 

**Kagomesjewel:** I have a kitten that follows me around and I work like a dog. I try to have as much time as possible, but stress and tiredness gives me writer's block too. I do my best, I really try though. Sorry.

**The Deity of Fun Dinner:** Wow! Sugoi! I love it when people say 'I hate AUs but after reading yours I think yours rocks!' Although I always wondered that if they hate AUs, why did they start reading this in the first place? Ah well, one of those mysteries. And poor FFN… not, wait, I mean stupid FFN! Not letting me update! Grrrrrrrrrrr! Well, at least I got to edit a bit (although I doubt it did anything) and re-write shoutouts and a preview. 

**Sweedaeth: **Sorry luv, I gotta kill who I gotta kill. Reading it for a month and this is your first review? For shame!

**link no miko:** *bows* Thank you. I couldn't think of anything, tried to think of the point of the chapter, realized it was completely boring but advanced the plot nicely  so Plot it was. And yes, I finally confirmed your suspicious. Don't break something. And don't say 'buggered'. Buggered is British for yaoi-hentai. Don't say buggered. And Toutousai said 'Sesshoumaru-sama' to be sarcastic, condescending, mocking, whatever. To be mean. And Sesshy didn't kill him because he's useful for later… maybe..ish. No, no I won't steal your candy. I'll steal your soul! HAHAHAHAHA!… HA! I gave to the pictures, and now Kouga's dead. Both os which are entirely unrelated to each other. But sorry.

Okay, okay, I know my updates are horrible, but the previews are nice, right? They help tie you over until the big day of when I _do_ update. At least I do it once a week, unlike those who take two months! You must love me, even if I am incompetent. Ha! And I have Mizuki. 

Preview Chapter 44: Numbers:

_"Inu-Yasha!" Miroku all but slapped the threeblood across the face. Not sure whether to be thankful he was normal again or to worry to death about the fact that the guardian angel didn't seem to be breathing, the monk just started to panic. _

_"You hang around Shippo too much." Netsuna said, as Kirrara came up between the demon and the threeblood, Sango leaning against her. Netsuna looked suspiciously at the angel, who ignored her and prodded Inu-Yasha with one flaming paw, making small growling noises. _

_"That really doesn't look good." One of the wolf soldiers said. "Hey bouzo, think you can fix him?" He looked at Miroku expectantly. The monk clenched his beaded, clothed fist. _

_"I'm a monk, not a healer!" He said, looking at the disturbingly large amount of blood around the half-angel. "I can't do anything about this!"_

_The wolf demon shrugged and started whistling 'It's the end of the world as we know it'  without even trying to be discreet. One of his companions elbowed him hard in the ribs to silence him when everyone else started glaring. _

_"So we can't fix him?" Shippo asked, poking one of the wounds on Inu-Yasha's arm. Miroku shook his head. _

_"Not unless but some miracle of fate a doctor suddenly shows up." He said despairingly. _

_"Well, you're in luck then." A quiet voice said suddenly, turning them all around. "I just happen to be a doctor."_

End preview.

Now, some of you probably know what I'm talking about, some of you don't, some of you should but do, some of you shouldn't but for some reason do and some of you are confused by this sentence alone. *grin*

~Ama

And because my updating was a bummer, here's….

Three quotes for a bummer-summer!

"When life gives you lemons, you clone those lemons and make… _super_ lemons." – Clone High

"When life gives you lemons, you throw those lemons back at life, saying, 'I don't want your stupid lemons!'" – A banner at amv.org

"When life gives you lemons, you make a great-tasting lemonade, patent it, distribute, sell, become filthy stinking rich and laugh at life." – Me. 

Mizuki compels you to leave a big, long, ranting review and then he'll strip!

^-_-^ Too much Pocky. 


	44. Chapter 44: Captives

Disclaimer: Lalalalalala…. I can't hear you…..

Hello everybody! Is everyone well this week? Good! You know, I only have to work three days this week, so there's a good chance that next week's chapter will be on time! Wouldn't that rock?! It would, wouldn't it? Considering I have a lot of crap to do anyway! Like go see Pirates of the Caribbean and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and in a few weeks I have to go up north to see my family for a week, and then go to Wonderland…. Maybe I should do like, three chapters this week, just in case. -_- Your loyalty's going to be the death of me.

And now! The shoutouts!

**Anonymous:** Uh…. Well….  *is stuck* There were three kids, and two bloods to mix. So there was a half and half hanyou, like there should be, and then for some reason instead of three half and halfs, all the youkai blood went into one kid, leaving the other human. Because youkai blood _is_ magic, and that's why we have our pretty Sesshy-sama. Ok?  Well, as long as it's a good story I suppose the technicalities don't have to make sense. And like I said, scientifically, there should be no angels, demons or ghosts anyway.

**Sweetdaeth:** Okay, so I see your point. But all the pretty reviews make me feel special, that look, I have nearly 700 reviews! I'm loved! Squee! If you don't want to review them all, you can always buy me a Sesshoumaru plushie and I'll still feel loved. *grin* And yes, I have a list. I have this whole thing planned out. And how would you like it if I just kille dhtem all and left Naraku to rampage, eh? Or we'll just have to wait and see. And as long as she doesn't kill Lupin, I'm fine.

**Silver Magiccraft:** *sniff* I would love to sleep all day. Oh, wait, I did that yesterday. Ah well! I can't sleep today, oh no, no, I have to update this! *eye twtiches* I'm not crazy, I'm no crazy, I'm not crazy…

**bigwooshin:** Yeah, well my kitty has razor sharp claws and sharp pointy teeth! Besides, she fights with my schnauzer everyday and wins and she's about as big as my hand. She's a tough little kitty ^_^. And I'm working on the battle scenes of blood and death. There's one today, wrote it at work on my break! And I updated on Monday! Working at a Walmart Macdonald's that's never too busy gives one great benefits. I think it out all in my head, and then scribble it down on paper when I have my half and twenty. Then type it up on the computer it the three hours space I have left and woohoo! Done! *dies*

**Simply Turquoise:** No Mizuki stripping? Now Mizuki cries.

**Kagomesjewel:** Fanart? Squee! Editing? Squee! Sesshoumaru plushie? Squee! (okay, it was worth a shot)

**Vold:** I am so strange. And Mizuki's so loveable! My loveable little Micky! *kugs the kappa* Yeah, Kouga's a blockhead and now he's dead. It sucks that way, donnit? Loose ends intrigue the reader to keep reading. And ask questions, just in case I wrote down a quirk that I forgot about as I kept writing but you noticed and then you'd be all 'what?' and I'd be all 'oh crap' and yeah. No, Mizuki's not in Hell. He's in my closet. *bows* Thank you for more readers! Quick! Get more! Entice the minions! (fantabulous is –my- word)

**ChocolateEclar:** Are there any Kouga fans, except my friend who doesn't read this story and it's a pretty good thing she doesn't because I'd be so dead otherwise? But he's just the first. Others, who have more fans, will die too. Maybe I'll even dare to kill Sesshoumaru! But I won't be able to live with myself afterwards…. *sniff*

Begin Chapter

**Chapter 44: **

**Captives**

The cold atmosphere was starting to really get on Mizuki's nerves. The kappa growled as he carried the unconscious Kagome through to the eighth gate, shooting glares at the content trespasser beside him, the blood having vanished form them both. 

"You didn't have to kill him." Mizuki muttered for an unnumbered time. "You could have just broken his legs or something so he couldn't follow us. Killing him was a fuckin' much, eh?"

The trespasser didn't answer, knowing the kappa's questions were more rhetorical self mutterings rather then directed at him. The two demons continued to walk through the desert of Hell in silence, interrupted solely by the kappa glaring over at the trespasser, muttered curses every once in a while. 

The trespasser saw the near-silence close to a blessing.

"Ah…" a third voice broke the silence suddenly as Kagome groaned, slowly coming around. Both Mizuki and the trespasser stopped as the blue-haired demon carefully lowered the girl to the ground, leaning her against a rock. The girl slumped forward and put a hand to her head weakly. 

"Guh I…. Where am… what's go… what…" She rubbed at her temples, before opening her eyes and looking at them, blinking dumbly. She shook her head slightly, gripping it tightly. "Who… you… the demons…. You…"

"Hey woman, I got a name!" Mizuki and then sniffed. "It's Mizuki."

"Mizu…. Kagome muttered before grabbing her head in her hands and curling as if she was punched strongly in the gut. "Inu-Yasha…." She shook her head, still in her hands, and curled up into a tight little ball, her fingers twitching in her hair.

Mizuki looked at her and then at his partner, his look having changed from anger to confusion. "Ne, has she gone insane?"

"No…" The trespasser looked at Kagome curiously. "not crazy…" It crashed out a clawed hand and the curled up girl shrank even tighter into her ball with a small noise, trembling slightly. The trespasser's eyes lit up with an unnatural, hungry light as it pulled it's hand back. "I don't believe it…!" It hissed, grinning. "This is… this is excellent!"

Mizuki eyed the trespasser, Kagome, and then trespasser again, wondering if both of his company had lost their marbles. "Eh, listen Broody, all this scheming thing has either gotta come into the light or else. Now what the hell are you talking about this time?"

The trespasser looked at Mizuki calmly. "Yet something else beyond your power of intelligence to understand, kappa." It said silkily, "but to be put bluntly, the Reborn has managed to establish a connection with the threeblood, which indicates that he was at least managed to reinstate his consciousness. Also, there is this matter that you may find interesting…" Raising it's hand again, it brought it near Kagome to shrank up again. But this time the demon brought it's hand close enough to touch her and Mizuki was astonished to see sparks cackle around the trespasser's claws.

"Wha-what is that?" Miuzki sword silently. The trespasser brought it's hand to towards it's body, rubbing it's afflicted appendage as if burnt. 

"_That,_ Mizuki, is a sign that already the three existences are crumbling. No doubt Naraku's minions have killed a large amount of angels and quite possible destroyed all but one of the mortal's Keys."

"Fuck, you're joking." Mizuki swore, glancing over at the girl. "You mean…"

"The three existences are melding into one. Because of this, demons, angels and mortals alike can use their powers in all three planes. It will also be extremely dangerous because it means that Naraku's powerful minions, many of which carry the shards of the Keyjewel, will have their power increased tenfold. That was what you were going to say, right _shin'nyu?_"

Both demons turned around to see an oddly dressed man standing behind him, a sword hanging loosely over his shoulder, a strange smile on his painted face. Mizuki heared a growling noise and glanced at the trespasser, who seemed a bit peeved at the mortal's appearance. The shadow demon caught Mizuki's curious look and stopped growling, coughing in his throat. 

"Okay, who are you?" Mizuki asked plain and simply. The man straightened himself up and grinned disarmingly. "I'm Jakotsu, of the Seven!"

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Mizuki asked in disbelief. "Or off chasing after some guy's ass? What are you doing here?"

Jakotsu glared at Mizuki before swinging his sword around dramatically and pointing at Kagome. "That." He said, wrinkling his nose. "I need the woman to get Inu-kun. So please be a good hottie and hand her over."

"Now waitaminute, I'm not handing any girl over to-  hottie? Inu-kun?" Mizuki blinked a bit, his poor brain working fast at trying to decipher all this information at once. Jakotsu frowned. 

"Well, not really a hottie I guess since you're green… I don't really like green… but you have a braid that looks a lot like Ani-ki's… Oh I can't tell!" The gay man stomped a foot on the ground, whining like a six-year-old. Mizuki's head hurt.

"Dammit, what are you doing here? You can't have the Reborn!" The trespasser interrupted the odd conversation that was beginning with a hiss. Jakotsu looked at him curiously. 

"So why are you here? Aren't you _not_ supposed to kill her?" the asked accusingly. 

"Okay, okay, just a sec…" Mizuki held up his hands before the other demon could say anything. "You know this freak?"

Jakotsu glared at him and crosse dhis arms, huffing. "I am not a freak, green-skin. I mean, look at you! You're like a frog! Definetly not a hottie."

"Hey, was I talking to you?" Mizuki growled. "I don't want your opinions as to whether I'm sexy or not1 I got enough ladies telling me that. Now bugger off, _freak_!"

"You work for Sesshoumaru, right?" Jakotsu said bluntly.. "Well, the _shin'nyu_ works for Naraku! I know because he used to keep us locked up and he'd talk to Ani'ki! He's name's Kuro-michi, I think."

Mizuki's eyes hardened. "Naraku?" He spun around. "You work for Naraku? You fucking liar, you work for that prick?! Have you been feeding him information, is that why he keeps avoiding us?! EH?!" He grabbed the trespasser by the throat and threw him against the ground. 

"Mizuki, wait! How do you know he's even telling the truth?" The demon stood up, holding a hand out. Jakotsu smirked. 

"_Because_, Kuro-michi, even if I'm lying I know one important thing: trespassers can't lie. So go on Mizuki-kun, ask him." The mortal said with a self-satisfying smirk. 

"Call me that again and I'll rip out your throat." Mizuki muttered before turning back to the trespasser. "Well? Do you work for Naraku? Have you worked for Naraku? Have you ever even spoken to him? Answer!" He brought the spear dangerously close to the trespasser's neck. Kuro-michi backed up. 

"Yes, I have worked for him and yes, I have spoken with him." The demon hissed. "But no, I no longer work for him, although he may think otherwise. And no, before you ask it, I have no contact with anyone that works with him, nor have I recently."

"How do I know that?" Mizuki said, pressing the steel blade of his trident against the trespasser's throat, backing into another one of the large boulders. "That you're not mentally having conversations with other guys that work for Naraku, eh? Answer me that?!"

"Because trespassers can only communicate telepathically with other trespassers!" Kuro-michi hissed, grabbing the trident's prongs and pushing them away. "And before you ask, my sister is the only I have spoken to, the only I _can_ speak to. We are the last, she and I. There are no other trespassers, so get over it!"

Mizuki blinked before he registered exactly what the trespasser had said. Seeing the kappa's realization, the trespasser shoved the trident into the dirt. "And if your finished with your childish and predictable tirades, Jakotsu has just taken off with the Reborn."

"What?!"  Mizuki spun around to see the empty spot where he had rested the girl. "Aw shit…"

"Shit is right Mizuki, and if you weren't so easy to manipulate then we wouldn't be have this problem here. And now our Reborn is as good as gone to us, for Jakotsu will surely kill her the moment he gets."

"No." A voice made them both turn, warily, to start at what was behind them. Inu-Yasha stood there, blood, others and his own, spattered across his face, bare chest, torn pants, frazzled hair. Scratches, slashes and scars decorated his body, along with stripes along his arms and two on either side of his face. His claws were long, curved and deadly and his ears were sharper-looking too, except for that one was half-torn. His eyes were hard and he looked off into the distance, as if seeing something they couldn't see. He growled, glaring his frightening clear red eyes into the bleak desert. 

"Not any more."

The group walked through the desert in silence, no one really feeling like talking. The wolf soldiers were humbled by the sight of their dead leader and Shippo and Sango were shaking from what had happened. Kirrara and Netsuna were the only ones who seemed unaffected, walking steadily and glancing at each other out of the corner of their eyes.

One of the wolf soldiers suddenly started sniffing suddenly before pointing ahead, at a prone form that could be seen. "Hey, over there, it's the threeblood!"

Everyone looked at each other before breaking into a run towards the lump. As they got closers it could obviously be identified as the red garb the threeblood wore, the red covering almost all of the body. 

"Kami…" Sango whispered as they got closer. 

Inu-Yasha's body was pratically in pieces, it was cut up so bad. He seemed to have returned to his normal self, both his ears intact and droopy, all markings gone, his claws smaller and duller. But he was lying was seemed to be a pool an inch deep of his own blood and in some of the deeper cuts his bones and tendons were visible. Many of the wolves wrinkled their nose at the heavy smell of the blood, Sango buried her head in Miroku's chest and Shippo just plain fainted.

"Inu-Yasha?" Miroku stepped down from Kirrara, handing the shaken Sango to the large cat and going up to his friend. Examining his wounds, and taking a swift intake of breath, his felt for a pluse, a breath, anything, then tried shaking his friend awake.

No avail.

"Inu-Yasha!" Miroku all but slapped the threeblood across the face. Not sure whether to be thankful he was normal again or to worry to death about the fact that the guardian angel didn't seem to be breathing, the monk just started to panic. 

"You hang around Shippo too much." Netsuna said, as Kirrara came up between the demon and the threeblood, Sango leaning against her. Netsuna looked suspiciously at the angel, who ignored her and prodded Inu-Yasha with one flaming paw, making small growling noises. 

"That really doesn't look good." One of the wolf soldiers said. "Hey bouzo, think you can fix him?" He looked at Miroku expectantly. The monk clenched his beaded, clothed fist. 

"I'm a monk, not a healer!" He said, looking at the disturbingly large amount of blood around the half-angel. "I can't do anything about this!"

The wolf demon shrugged and started whistling 'It's the end of the world as we know it'  without even trying to be discreet. One of his companions elbowed him hard in the ribs to silence him when everyone else started glaring. 

"So we can't fix him?" Shippo asked, poking one of the wounds on Inu-Yasha's arm. Miroku shook his head. 

"Not unless but some miracle of fate a doctor suddenly shows up." He said despairingly. 

"Well, you're in luck then." A quiet voice said suddenly, turning them all around. "I just happen to be a doctor."

Everyone turned around to see a mild-mannered, middle-aged man dressed in simple and ancient clothes that held and extremely suspicious air about him. Kirrara stepped protectively in front of everyone and growled. The self-proclaimed doctor looked alarmed. 

"Oh, no, please don't see me as a threat." He said, holding his hands up. "I'm not sure how I would come about as suspicious but I was walking around here wondering where I was and I saw your group and went to talk to you about where I was and then I overhead that oyu needed a doctor and, well, I am a doctor so I =though you might need my help."

Netsuna and Miroku both raised eyebrows and looked at each other. Shippo, who had woken up and was clinging to the monk's shoulder like a lifeline, glared at the stranger, bristling. 

"It's quite possibly a trap." Netsuna whispered, not taking her eyes off of the nervous strange, who looked as though he realized he had just walked into a snake pit. "You guys _should_ be the only mortals here, but with the balance screwed up, who knows? It's a 50/50 chance either way and we," she glanced at Inu-Yasha's body for a second," "can't afford to take any chances."

Before Miroku could answer, a familiar jangling caused his head to turn. Sango, who was leaning on his staff he had lent her, was moving forward, leaning on the staff heavily. The three rings in the loop at the top were clinking together, making the musical noise. She began to move forward, ignoring Kirrara's warning, watching the stranger carefully as she walked towards him. 

Everyone had gone silent, watching all this save for Kirrara's light growls and Shippo's trembling, watching as Sango made her way to the stranger. She paused beside him, watching him like a child watches a man at a train station. 

"Are you really a doctor?" Sango asked. The man nodded fearfully. "Can you really help him?" She indicated Inu-Yasha's prone form. The doctor looked at the threeblood's body and cringed. 

"Well, I'm not really sure, seeing that he's a demon and his wounds are pretty severe and I never said I was a good doctor, just that I am and I'm not a surgeon or anyth-"

"Can you?"

The doctor cringed and looked at the girl who watched him blankly. "I can try."

Sango seemed to relax and smiled a bit. "Thank you. I'm Taichisa Sango." She held out her hand in greeting. 

"Suikotsu." The man smiled handsomely and took her hand. Just as they shook and shriek periced the air. 

"Kyyaaaaa!!!! Miroku! Quick! Kill him! Air Rip, stab him, use those cursey-things, I don't care just kill him fast!" Shippo squealed, hiding behind his task. 

"Shippo, what are you talking about?" Miroku asked, trying to pry the frantic kit off of him. 

"That's a Shichinin-tai!" Shippo pointed an accusing finger at the shocked doctor. "Him! He's gonna kill us! This is a trap!"

"…kotsu…. Of course that why the name sounded familier!" Netsuna realized. "Dammit Sango, get away from there!"

Sango's face paled as she realized what was going on, but before she could move the hand holding hers tightened it's grip and pulled her sharply, causing her to lose her balance. Another hand grabbed her other arm in a strong grip, holding her there helplessly. 

"Sango!" Miroku shouted, looking in fear. The calm, handsome doctor seemed to have just transformed into his huge, hideous, giant of a man, with one arm around Sango's neck and the other hand holding her arm in a death grip. The evil Suikotsu grinned. 

"Of course, no one thinks the doctor is evil." He grinned, chuckling. "And everyone would feel compassion for their friend lying on the ground. The same should be happening to the threeblood in reality soon, once he meets Jakotsu."

Everyone looked back to see the 'body' of Inu-Yasha vanish, nothing more than an illusion. "Oh, don't worry, Jakotsu will probably kill him cleaner than that.  You guys, I'm afraid, are going to die messy and slowly." He tightened his grip on Sango's arm and she winced. 

"You bastard, let her go!" Miroku said, stepping forward. The man squeezed even harder, causing Sango to cry out in pain. "I wouldn't take another step closer, if I were you." he warned. "Or the girl dies messily. If you want her to die quickly and painlessly, then don't move."

Miroku froze, undecided as to what to do.

"Miroku, get out of here!" Sango shouted. "Go save Kagome-chan and Inu-Yasha! Hurry! Don't worry about me!"

"Shut up girl!" Suikotsu growled, tightening his grip around her neck and arm. Sango winced, but didn't stop. 

"Go! Now! We can't do anything if we're all dead!" She shouted and Suikotsu glared at her. 

"That's it." Suikotsu said, raising Sango up by her one arm, dangling her in the air. "You're shutting up now." He said, twisting his hand violently. A sharp crack was heard and Sango let out a small cry, but nothing more as the Shichinin-tai member dropped her to the ground. 

"Sango!" Miroku said, taking a step forward but Suikotsu grabbed her neck, grinning maliciously. "Don't move monk, or I won't break her arm next time…."

"…I'll break her neck." Jakotsu said threateningly, holding Kagome hostage, one hard around her neck. Inu-Yasha growled, knowing that the Keyjewel was making the gay man stronger. Jakotsu smiled as he held Kagome as far away from him as possible. 

"You see Inu-kun? It's hopeless. Now why don't you give up the girl and come with me, I can promise you a much better time and…" he trailed off, noting that Inu-Yasha didn't even seem to be listening to him. "ne?"

"Let her go." Inu-Yasha growled. "Let her go and I might let you live."

"Oh?" Suikotsu sneered. "I don't think you're one to make idle threats, little man."

"I'm not making idle threats." Miroku said, his eyes having darkened. "I'm making real ones."

"really?" Jakotsu raised an eyebrow. 

"Really." Inu-Yasha snarled. "Now…"

"I'm only going to say this once more…" Miroku said, taking a step forward. 

"Let her go."

End Chapter 44

Whee! I'm dancing like a monkey! I've been working too hard, watched too much of Monster Inc and Jungle Book 2 thanks to work, got sick, have realized that I read twenty-five freakin' webcomics and I can't even remember them all and have a headache as big as Tetsusaiga. But…. 

I got to watch a bunch of new episodes of Inu-Yasha! Ye gods, it was wonderful and confusing all at the same time. But I got to see Japanese Jakotsu! Squee-hee!

*ahem* Anyway, on with the shoutouts! And then I'll die. X_X

**diamondtigress: **You thought is was gonna be Kagome? Really? Nope, I killed a minor little character nobody cares about. Ha!

**Litwolf689:** You're sad and then happy again? Now I'm scared…

**Megu-chan:** What if I kill Kagome AND Inu-Yasha? Would that be any better? And isn't the 'dying-while-=saving-the-world-and-killing-badguy' thing kinda overdone? I mean, sure that's what I'm hinting at, but are you sure that's what I'm really doing?

**Stephi:** You frighten me to no end. ^_^

**Chanin:** Yep, Kouga dies. Poor Kouga. Poor, poor… okay, I'm not saying poor Kouga any more! I killed him and thought it was kinda funy! Because I can't stand him! Especially since I can't figure out if it's actually his tail or just part of his outfit! DAMN YOU KOUGA! You make me think too hard! *cries*

**Kumokuro:** Well nya! Silly American. I'm a proud Canuk! Even though I live near Toronto, which is just a bunch of yankee wannabes. 

**link no miko:** well, Mizuki's a manly kappa! *said Mizuki puffs out his chest* Yeah, I can't believe Miroku didn't try that either. But eh, surprises. And yes, I wrote the S/M moment and thought of you. That scares me. Stop that.  And actually it was Shippo that used his powers. Remember how he set that soldier's foot on fire? Shippo's an angel, remember. A Mizuki fanclub? Really? *jumps up and down excitedly* A character I created has a fanclub!  Squee! And the whistling part I originally wasn't planning to put in, and I really shouldn't have because now it's not as funny, But if I hadn't I would have forgotten it. So meh. And your lemon quote ruled too. I made mine up on the spot. Laughing is fun. And yes, Mizuki stripping! Maybe I'll actually draw a picture of that… Anyone who wants a picture of Mizuki stripping, shout! I'm out!

So, no real need for preview, it's just a two-way fighting scene, Miroku vs Suikotsu and Inu vs. Jakotsu. Yay, fighting!

~Ama

Quotey: "Everyone likes men." "Not lesbians." "Lesbians like men. Just really pretty men. Look at anime." – overhead somewhere (let's say an elevator, even though it wasn't)

Also: "Little do they know that –I– control them." 


	45. Chapter 45: Chivalry

Thank you everyone who was so patient this month! Here, finally, is the result of too much stuff happening at once! I'd like to name you all, but I just don't have the time, with school starting and the fact I need to go to sleep now.. *dies* But thank you all very much!

**Chapter 45: **

**Chivalry**

Alright sister, what is the situation?

_Well, the Seven member stands about a few steps from Miroku, the monk, holding Sango, the hunter girl who's arm he broke, by the throat with his left arm. We're standing a good twelve feet south east from them. Miroku, the monk, is facing the Seven member alone, his angel being a bit of a wuss and is hiding at the side. His holding his staff in his right hand, the cursed one, mostly because he's right handed but also because he probably knows he can't use it as long as Sango's there. The size difference is only two feet but it's a good 100 pounds. The Schinichi-tai member seems to be one very used to killing and looks happy for this fight. And they're gonna go at it aannnyyy minute now. How's you?_

The threeblood stands nine feet from us in front of the homosexual Seven, who holds the Reborn by the neck with his arm. The threeblood is probably going to attack in under a minute. He has only his claws whilst the Seven member has his unique sword. The difference is about two inches the Seven, 30 pounds the threeblood.

_Riight… so, in other words, bloodfest!_

A fair fight both ways sister. It'll be interesting to see how this turns out.

_Uh… shouldn't we do something though?_

There is no need.

_Well peh._

Just remember what you are to do… and what you are not.

_Understood….  Brother._

Mizuki looked up at the shadow demon as he moved closer to watch the showdown. The kappa raised an eyebrow. 

"So? What's happenin'?" He asked. Kuro-michi looked at him as if surprised that Mizuki was expecting a response. 

"The monk and the fifth of the Seven are battling." He said simply.

"The fifth?" Mizuki looked at the sky and then nodded. "Ah, the schizo doctor, right?"

The trespasser nodded. "It will be interesting to see how they survive this one."

Miroku banked as Suikotsu faked a step forward. Chuckling, the evil doctor sonjured metal hooks onto his knuckles, those on his right hand dangerously close to Sango's throat. Miroku blinked in shock. 

"I thought mortals couldn't use their powers in Hell!" The monk said aloud. Netsuna coughed nervously.

"Well, the problem is that Hell is disappearing." She said. Everyone gave her a sharp look and Suikotsu's dark grin widened as the feline demon flicked her tail in unspoken anxiety.

"wait.. if that barrier's broken in the three existences then that means…" Shippo blanched in horror. Suikotsu threw back his head and let out a deep laugh.

"We're winning!" He roared and gave Miroku an irritating look of triumph. "How do you feel about that boy? Your entire family dead, their souls devoured. But you'll wish you had a fate like that before you. You'll bleed to death with everyone one of your bones broken and then I'll kill of the rest of this pathetic hero group. And have some fun with the girl before I snap her in half…" He smirked as he squeezed tighter, causing Sango to cry out. "And you'll have to watch it all-"

Suikotsu's speech was cut off by Miroku's staff colliding directly with the killer's head, cutting a deep gash. Suikotsu snarled in pain and shock and threw Sango from him, the girl knocking into a rock and lying limply on the ground as Shippo and Kirrara rushed up to her. Putting a hand up to his bleeding face Suikotsu glared at Miroku who watched him just as darkly.

"That may seem brave to whelps like you who have only read battles where a hero always wins…" He wiped away the blood, his expression malevolent. "But here in, the real fights, all bravery gets you is killed!" He launched himself and slashed with his strap-on claws at the monk, who ducked to avoid the attack, swinging upwards with his staff to knock Suikotsu's hand aside, making the killer lose his co-ordination for just a split second, giving Miroku time to swing the blunt end of the staff right into the zombie's gut. 

Suikotsu growled and turned his body to absorb most of the impact from the blow. With quick footing for someone so large he faked a left and then kicked Miroku aside, turning to run behind him and slash his claws at the monk's head.

Netsuna gasped and Shippo nearly fainted again. Miroku's staff was held behind him, holding Suikotsu's claws a hair's breadth away from the monk's head. Holding the staff at the farthest ends he could reach, Miroku twisted his entire body around, causing Suikotsu's arms to twist painfully and the large killer had to turn his body to keep from breaking his arm. Before his claws were even freed Miroku's foot planted on his bottom jaw, sending his head upwards and him staggering back, even as Miroku freed his staff and knocked the zombie's legs from right out under him, sending him crashing to the ground.

The wolf soldiers cheered and whistled as Shippo jumped up and down excitedly, pumping his fists into the air. Netsuna smirked but remained otherwise silent, her expression dark and worried as she glanced at the unconscious Sango.

Miroku didn't acknowledge his cheers as he watched Suikotsu. The cheering died down when the large man stood up, watching Miroku with a slight smirk. Miroku returned the humourless smile.

"But from these stories of battles I've been able to tell that the bad guys always end up doing the same things, making the same mistakes." He said coolly. Suikotsu snorted.

"And then I supposed this would be the part where I compliment your fighting and offer you to join our group and caused." He said with a smirk.

"And offer you would only make because you are too afraid to keep fighting against me, and being that I am the noble hero, I would decline and proceed to kill you."

Suikotsu's smile vanished. "And that's why I always hated those damned stories." He said, snarling. "Besides boy, you're going to find out just how different life is from books."

Suikotsu began to slash at Miroku with both hands from every angle. The monk blocked every move with practiced swings of his staff, the sound of metal hitting metal ringing through the air as Suikotsu began to punch with more and more fury. With a roar of frustration the giant swung both arms down on Miroku's head, the monk stopping the claws just in time with his staff. He gritted his teeth as Suikotsu pressed down with all his strength and weight, Miroku feeling as if he were about to be crushed. 

Miroku could feel his hands, chafed from used the staff so heavily, slipping, slick with sweat and blood. Straining his already sore and over-used muscles he pushed as hard as he could even though he could feel himself breaking under the pressure. 

They're depending on me, he thought to himself, desperately hoping there was some bout of reserved strength inside of him. I can't lose or they'll all die….

"Miroku!"

"C'mon man, kick his ass already!"

"Go bouzo!"

"Hey, if you die we're all dead! And I happen to like being alive!"

"Oi, would you _shut up_ already? Go monk!"

Netsuna looked at the cheering and squabbling group, then back at Sango, then back at the fight, where it was obvious Miroku was going to get slashed very soon. She swung her tail back and forth, unsure of what to do. Clicking her claws nervously, she frowned. 

"Oh what the hell." She decided, then sighed. "He's gonna kill me, but I'm older anyway. Mom'll understand."

Miroku could feel the bone in his arm beginning to crack under the strain. Suikotsu must feel it too, because he smirked as Miroku, pushing even harder. 

"What is it boy, getting to hard for you? This is what happens when you try to play hero!" He said, pressing down with another burst of unnatural strength. Miroku's legs gave out, just as the earth shattered. Suikotsu, caught off guard by the sudden earthquake, fell to the side, leaving only a deep cut on Miroku's head. Letting out a roar of frustration Suikotsu leaped up and tackled Miroku, who just managed to stop the assault with his staff. 

"Come on Miroku, you can do it!" Shippo shouted, jumping up and down. "Go Miroku, go! Ya!"

Miroku kept forcing his numbed arms to move, ducking under Suikotsu and running behind him. "Shippo, you're gonna have to be _sharper_ than that because I'm so tired any minute now I'm going to start _sucking_!"

Suikotsu's fist caught Miroku's chin, knocking the monk sideways and cracking his knuckles. "Pay attention to your own problems, boy." The large man said darkly. "Now get up so we can finish this fight."

Miroku leaned on his staff as he stood up, putting a hand to his aching jaw. Resting his elbow on the staff to keep him upright he began to untie his wrist.

"right now would be when I told you every reason I was fighting you." The monk said heavily. "For the mortals, for my family, for everyone you killed, for hurting Sango." He shook the rosary beads to the ground. "But I don't feel like wasting my breath."

Suikotsu grinned. "Good choice, since you won't be breathing at all in about a minute." He said, taking a step forward when sharp teeth suddenly sank into his shoulder. "What the fuck?!" He swore, turning around to see Shippo jump to the ground, spitting. 

"Ew…. I think I swallowed some of that!" He said, wrinkling his nose in disgust. Suikotsu growled. 

"I'll kill you you little brat!" He said, lunging forward. 

"KYA! Miroku!" Shippo screamed, jumping into the air. 

"Go to Hell, you bastard!" Miroku shouted, opening his fist. The black hole cursed into his hand began to suck in everything and Suikotsu found himself being pulled back. Glancing behind him he saw Miroku's hand and immediately understood. "Fuck!"

He dug his feet into the ground and tried to move forward against the wind. Looking ahead he saw two things coming towards him. 

The sword sliced neatly into his chest, coming full out to the other end, the killer unable to stop it's entrance because of the wind holding his arms back. Yet even as he coughed up blood and felt his life fade to nothingness he laughed. 

"Idiot! I'll see you in oblivion!" He shouted in a coughing fit of blood, as the swarm of bee-like insects rushed past him to fly purposefully and directly into Miroku's cursed hole. Not moving from the strain the sudden power of his cursed hand Miroku winced as fifty-some of these poisonous creatures flew directly into the hole before Miroku managed to wrap the rosary around his wound, sealing the wind.  His face pale, he fell onto his knees, clutching his wrist in pain. The thick-bladed sword transformed back into Shippo, who ran up fearfully to Miroku, past Suikotsu's vanishing body. 

"Miroku!" He said in his high voice, grabbing the monk's sleeve. "Why did you do something stupid like that? You should have sealed your rip as soon as you saw the bugs coming!"

Miroku gasped a bit, vision going blurry as he tried to stop the pain in his arm. "The wind was too strong… it's been so long since I last used it… it… it must have gotten stronger since…"

"Eh monk, you alright?" Netsuna asked, picking up the squirming Shippo and placing him elsewhere. "Really kid, you look terrible."

"Those were Narkau's bugs! The Shami-… Sami… The sa.. Naraku's bugs!" The little fox kit spluttered. Netsuna looked at him with a raised eyebrow and cocked ear.

"Naraku's got bugs now? That's weird… I knew he was a freak but never saw him as a bee keeper…" She said musingly.  "OW!"

Shippo bit her finger. "This is no time to be joking! Miroku's dying! Look at him!" He squealed loudly. Netsuna flattened her ears and winced. 

"All right, just trying some humour." She muttered. "Hey kid, can you stand?"

Miroku nodded weakly and leaned heavily on his staff as he stood up. Shippo floated beside him worriedly, looking for all the world like a worried mother. Netsuna hid a smile and twitched her tail happily. "Well, it can't get any worse on the other side."

"What?" One of the wolf soldiers looked at her. Netsuna smiled disarmingly. 

"Nothing dearie. Now let's just concentrate on keeping alive, shall we?" she said sweetly. She glanced over at where Miroku was leaning against Kirrara, trying to wake Sango up. "Some of us more than others."

"Ne Inu-kun, you say I have to let go of the girl?" Jakotsu said silkily, his grip still tight around Kagome's neck. "hmm… I cannot do that. First of all, Ani-ki would be very angry with me!" He said, grinning like a child. 

"I don't give a damn about your boss or brother or however the hell he is." Inu-Yasha snarled. "Let Kagome go."

Kagome watched Inu-Yasha through her blurring vision, still weakly struggling against Jakotsu's iron grip. Her angel still had his terrible demonic aura about him, but it seemed lighter and his normal aura seemed to hang around the fringes, as well as something new Kagome couldn't place. His eyes were still wild looking but golden rather then red, with blue tinting the edges of his pupil. The jagged stripes on his cheeks had faded slightly and his remaining ear looked more normal, while his claws and fangs were shorter. Still, the murderous look was still in his eyes and the healing wounds surrounding him made him look just as fierce and dangerous. 

"Ah, but Inu-kun if I just let her go then you won't fight me. And I really want to fight you." Jakotsu added simply, eyes narrowing. 

"Fucker!" Inu-Yasha tensed. "You choking Kagome to death because you want to fight me?! If that's all you fucking want then let her go and just fight me dammit! And I'm not going to let you win!"

Jakotsu's eyes widened and he smiled happily. "Ne, really? Oh, well then I don't need you, do I?" he turned to Kagome, throwing her roughly to the ground and then pulling out his long, multiple-bladed sword. "Do you want to lead the dance or can I?" He asked.

Kagome felt her breathing seem impaired but she looked up, struggling to focus, seeing Inu-Yasha facing off against an excited looking Jakotsu. There was a terrible gut feeling surrounding this entire battle. She knew that Inu-Yasha was going to die, although she didn't know why. She tried to sit up, ignoring the pain flashing through her and shouted. 

"Inu-Yasha!" She managed before gagging on some blood. Coughing a bit she regained her voice. "Don't do it Inu-Yasha! I'm not worth it! Don't die because of me!"

"Shut up wench!" Inu-Yasha snarled. "Of course you have to fucking live!" He kept one wary eye on Jakotsu, muscles tensed. "You're the whole damn reason we came to Hell in the first place! Without you the whole thing is shot! You're useless dead!"

Inu-Yasha turned his attention back to Jakotsu, not seeing the effect of his words on Kagome. Sitting on her knees, just barely staying conscious, she felt her heart stop cold at those words. He didn't want her to live because of friendship, or daresay something else. He didn't even want her to live. He needed her to live. Like she was a tool, instead of a livi- former living person. She wasn't a person; just the Reborn, the key to saving all existence. 

"Playtime now, Inu-kun!" Jakotsu said, swinging his sword at the threeblood, who dodged it with ease, avoiding the curving blades strapped together in a deadly whip. Landing on one of the broken rocks decorating the countryside, he pushed himself off and tried to get around the Shichinin-tai member before his weapon could return but Jakotsu had anticipated this and swung around, kicking deftly into the threeblood's gut, the impact sending Inu-Yasha flying. He landed clutching his stomach as Jakotsu caught and folded his weapon, smiling. 

"Almost everyone uses that move on the first time." He said brightly, whipping his sword out again., smashing the rock Inu-Yasha was crouching on before the half-angel barely had time to move, getting some rock shards in his foot. Snarling he began running a circle, trying to get behind Jakotsu but the sword seemed like another part of the zombie's body, twisting and turning, always just missing it's target, only due to Inu-Yasha's fast footing. 

Inu-Yasha snarled in frustration at not being able to reach his opponent. The curving snake-blade stopped him from getting anywhere near Jakotsu; at this rate he was just going to tire out and be easy pickings. Time to pick up the pace. 

He began ducking and weaving, running back and forth in the zigzag, hopping and leaping, trying to get his way through to confuse Jakotsu. But the zombie just kept up with him perfectly, nearly slicing him in half more than once. Growling Inu-Yasha jumped back just before turning into mincemeat. 

"Inu-kun, you're so good!" Jakotsu said happily. "No one's ever survived this long!"

That only served to infuriate Inu-Yasha more, as he dashed forward madly, his speed seeming to pick up. Jakotsu twisted and turned like a dancing, keeping up with the threeblood although this time actually straining. 

Kuro-michi held up a hand, keeping Mizuki from moving forward. The kappa looked at him. "Broody, the girl needs help!" He snapped. The trespasser looked at him with all seriousness. "That help is not ours to give. It is the threeblood who decides her fate."

"What?" Mizuki snarled. "You mean I have to stand here and watch her die?!"

"It won't be the first mortal to die in your presence and you as well as I know that should we survive it won't be your last. You should have no reason for feeling… bad."

Mizuki loosened his grip on his trident when he heard Kuro-michi say that, when all of a sudden a sharp pain hit his chest. "Ow! Sonofagoddamnedcheesefuckingbitch!" He swore, clutching at his chest and falling to his knees. "What in the hells was that?!" He said, sucking in a sharp breath as his heart twinged a bit more before settling back to normal. 

"Are you all right?" The trespasser asked, more in a ways of being polite than actual concern. Mizuki swore a bit more, standing up. 

"Yeah, I'll survive. But what was it?" He said, fixing his hair. Kuro-michi directed his attention  to the fight. Mizuki looked over to see Inu-Yasha crouching a bit, leaning on a sword that looked vaguely familiar except for it's bold colour…

"Oy, 'ain't that the sword the guy broke before? When he went crazy?" Mizuki nudged Kuro-michi. The trespasser nodded. "That is the whole reason why we were here, Mizuki… To bring out the true power of the threeblood with the red sword, Inu-Yasha's father's red Tetsusaiga."

"oh… So this is good." Mizuki smiled happily. "For am minute I thought we might be screwed again."

Inu-Yasha tried to catch his breath, standing admist the shards of Jakotsu's broken blade, the red Tetsusaiga in his tight grip. He was a bit blurry of the details of the past minute, remembering trying to reach Jakotsu, getting hit by his sword, getting angry and instinctively swinging as if he held Tetsusaiga and felt a great weight in his hands and even greater pain in his chest. Now he stood where he was, a strange feeling of satisfaction about him. 

"You.. you… you broke my toy!" Jakotsu whimpered. "You'll die for that!" He said, his aura getting darker as he reached for another weapon. But Inu-Yasha was ready and past him in a flash, cutting Jakotsu's arm right off. The zombie fell with a cry into his own blood, squirming until Inu-Yasha stabbed his sword right into his chest. 

Satisfied that the opponent was dead, Inu-Yasha turned from the body and went over to where Kagome was, curled up in a small ball, coughing painfully. Seeing the blood on the ground Inu-Yasha crouched down, looking at her in concern. "You alright?" He asked quietly. 

Kagome let out another cough, coupled with was sounded like a sob. More blood spattered on the ground as she ducked her head further, trying to ignore Inu-Yasha. 

The threeblood frowned. This was no time for childish acts and games. "Hey Kagome, come on. We gotta get to Naraku's before it's too late."

"No we don't." Kagome said brokenly, still hiding her face from Inu-Yasha. "You have what you need, I'm of no further value."

"What?" Inu-Yasha snapped. "Have you heard everyone? You, me, we're the ones who have to go and kill Naraku, just like my mom and dad di-"

"It's different!" Kaogme said, looking at him suddenly, a fierceness in her eyes. "This didn't happen to your mom and dad! It was completely different now and then! Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kirrara didn't matter, their just cannon fodder to make sure you and I get to Naraku's in time and intact! Then I die! Your mom died! And your dad got so pissed he did something wonderful and powerful and killed Naraku in the process because he was hurt because he loved her! _Not_ because he thought she was just some object!" She nearly screamed, going into another coughing/sobbing fit, clutching at her abdomen in pain. "But it's different now… you're already powerful enough… I'm useless now…"

Inu-Yasha was caught aback by her statement, trying to unwravel it all in his head. "Wait, Kagome, how di-" He froze, the fresh blood spattered all over his face and bare chest. 

Kagome looked at him with wide eyes, gasping a bit as the sword wrenched deeper through her. Inu-Yasha jumped up and kicked Jakotsu's body away, the zombie disintegrating as the key jewel shard fel out, unnoticed. Inu-Yasha ran back to Kagome, who had fallen to her side, breathing heavily. 

"Kag, you'll be alright." He said, trying to be soothing. "Kagome, I didn't mean what I said before… I was angry and scared… I…" He suddenly realized his voice fell on deaf ears. "Kagome? Kagome?!" He tried to revive her, feeling her lifeforce slipping away far too rapidly. "Kagome! Help! You guys! Help her!" He said frantically, locking eyes with the trespasser. Kuro-michi shook his head apathetically. 

"She's right, you know." The shadow demon said. "Her sole purpose in this was to bring out the Tetsusaiga of blood in your hands. Now that she has, she can rest on the final plane. She has no more point, and thus I have no more means to save her."

"What?! But you have to save her!" Inu-Yasha snarled frantically.  The trespasser shook his head. 

"I don't need to. As she said, her purpose is done. Kagome will die."

End Chapter 45

Cliché cliffhanger, I know, I know. Teaser, really. To keep you reading, even though I know you all do and thank you. The next chapter should be up on schedule at the proper time next week, if everything works out. Thank you again and enjoy your first week of school!

~Ama

Quote: When I am finished with the humans I shall begin the war against… the bees. – Invader Zim


	46. Chapter 46: Desperation

I updated! I updated! I'm so sorry for being later (understatement) But it's here! And hopefully I can get the next chapter up soon too!

To all my readers, loyal as I love you, thanks for your patience (stop sending me emails of impending death)

To all my new readers! Yay! I love you! Sorry for making you wait too, even if you might not was waited as long, and thanks for choosing my story! I love you all!

**Chapter 46:  **

**Desperation**

"What did you say?" Inu-Yasha snarled fiercely, glaring at the trespasser. "You're fuckin' kidding, right?"

"I am not a demon that kids around, threeblood." The shadow said in a calm tone that made the half-angel tense. "She has served her purpose and is of no further use. She was the sacrifice to increase your strength."

"Fuckin' nothing!" Inu-Yasha snarled deep in his throat, his grip on Kagome tightening. "My mom's the one who had the power to kill Naraku, and Kagome's that same one! You're spitting bull!"

"Calm _down_ Inu-Yasha." The shadow demon said tersely. "I am not… lying, as you had paraphrased. You have been misled. And for a purpose."

Inu-Yasha was so infuriated, so shocked he couldn't speak. Instead he let out a hissing noise in frustration. 

Seeing that was his only response, Kuro-michi decided to continue. "You see threeblood, already knowing your past was a bad enough sign for something to go wrong. So, to insure that everything would go as planned, you had to be given a different story. It was not your mother that killed Naraku. Your mother never even reached Naraku. She was killed."

Inu-Yasha's eyes narrowed. "So who killed him then?"

"Your father, of course." The trespasser said. "At the time your father was only a hanyou, half-demon, half-mortal. But when your mother died he became enraged and reached a state much like your previous one, nearly full demon blood. This increased his powers many times, but he lost all rational thought and became very dangerous. The monk tried to cast a spell to contain him."

"Dangerous? Contain him?" Inu-Yasha growled in puzzlement. "What do you mean?"

"You're father's demonic blood took him over completely and he was taken over in a complete blood lust. This had only happened once before and the only one able to stop him was your mother. However, being dead at the time, this posed no help whatsoever."

"I can imagine." Mizuki muttered under his breath. Inu-Yasha's sharp hearing caught him and the hanyou shot a growl and a glare to the kappa. 

"Therefore the monk did the only thing he could think of and used a banishing spell on your father, hoping what little mortal blood remained in the hanyou would keep you father present. It didn't quite work out that way…"

When the trespasser trailed off again Inu-Yasha snarled. "If you're going to tell a fucking story, tell it right!" He spat. The shadow demon looked at him with disdain. 

"Atmosphere is an important part a story, Inu-Yasha." It said in it's calm, cool voice. Inu-Yasha glared. 

"Yeah, well while you're doing your fucking atmosphere Kagome's dying! Now finish your fucking explanation as to why I shouldn't julienne fry you!"

Kuro-michi sniffed. "If you don't hurry up, threeblood, all of existence as we know it will cease to exist and it won't matter whether or not your Reborn is living."

Inu-Yasha's ears flattened as he thought about this piece of information. "Fine." He shot at the trespasser. "But I'm not leaving until you finish this story."

The shadow demon seemed visibly irritated by this, and possibly a bit nervous. He frowned and turned away from Inu-Yasha. "Your choice. What happened after the monk used his spell on your father was a sort of reverse osmosis; if you've ever bothered to pay attention while watching the Reborn in her school times you'd know what it is, so I'm not explaining it to you. Basically, instead of the blood leaving, the demonic blood became desperate and clung to everything it could; angel blood, human blood and demon blood. Your mother and the monk's blood were both absorbed into your father, nearly killing the monk, and your father reached a sort of different state. A threeblood. Pure threeblood. Not like you were originally, but exactly to the final decimal even. His lost sword grew out of his own blood, just as yours did, and he went to kill Naraku. It's not your place to know what happens after that."

Inu-Yasha's blank look would have been funny if not for the circumstance, so Mizuki masked up his laughter with a cough. 

"To put it in recent terms, instead of the Reborn dying initially, your demon blood was much more unstable and took over more quickly. While you were fighting Jakotsu you need to survive brought up some unnatural and inhibited memory of your father's achievements caused the reverse osmosis effect; you drew demon blood  from Mizuki, human from Jakotsu and angel from Kagome. Since you were fairly balanced to begin with, it didn't kill anyone, just caused quite the amount of damage to Kagome, who didn't have much angel blood to spare in the first place."

"Wait… Kagome has angel blood… My dad… Tetsusaiga… blood…." Inu-Yasha's feral features turned puppy-like for a minute as he looked down at Kagome's peaceful form. "I did this?" 

"Nah, you just sucked some life juice outta her, it was Jakotsu that put the big 'ol hole in her chest. O' course, if you hadn't been such a jerk to 'er all these years then you'd might notta had that argument that kept her still long enough for Jakotsu to stab 'er… the love thing might have a factor too." Mizuki said casually. Kuro-michi looked at him with his usually stoicism, but Inu-Yasha looked ready to bite his head off.  "What?! Oh come _on_ I've lived in this place for a good few hundred and even I'm not that stupid." He snorted. 

Inu-Yasha growled, then froze. Something had just changed, just… slipped. His breath caught up with his heart in his throat and he looked down to see Kagome go completely still… already some of her fingers were disappearing. "Kagome!" He shouted fruitlessly. "Kag! No!"

"Breaks yer heart, don't it?" Mizuki said, leaning on his trident. The trespasser gave him yet another one his of curious looks and Mizuki shrugged defencelessly. "I'm a demon. I live in Hell. I'm a soldier. I kill people for a living. Cupid 'ain't exactly a regular for me, and I'm a sucker for sad, sappy endings." He said, with a  twisted smile. Then he froze too and made a strange face, before looking behind him…. Slowly. A nervous smile flashed on his features. "Oh… hey boss."

Miroku held the cloth up to his mouth as he let out another rib-shaking cough. Shippo bounced around worriedly as the wolf army looked at each other. Since Kouga's rather brutish death Miroku and Sango were the closest to leaders they had. Now one was probably in a coma and the other was slowly poisoning to death. Netsuna sighed and rubbed her temples. 

"I got the living ones, I got the living ones…" She muttered as a slight mantra. Miroku's coughing brought her back to reality and she frowned. It wasn't supposed to be like this. 

When he wasn't coughing up his organs the monk would hold onto Sango tightly as they rode on the weary Kirrara. Netsuna smiled at the touching scene… then Miroku would start hacking again and the cat demon flattened her ears in disgust. 

"Hey, neko." One of the wolf soldiers said not-too-lightly. "Are we gonna live?"

"Ne?" Netsuna blinked in confusion at the worried wolf troops. The speaker fidgeted in his armour. 

"It's just you seem to know a lot about this war, y'know? Are we gonna die out here? Is the world gonna end?"

Netsuna frowned. "I'm a cat, not an oracle. If you want to live, fight. If you don't, sit down, close your eyes, and wait for the end. Either way I'm not helping or caring about you, got it? Go back to Sesshoumaru's castle if you're so scared."

The soldiers looked at each and unanimously decided, giving Netsuna more thought that they were all sharing one brain. The speaker turned back to the cat. "We're not scared."

"I hate canines." The cat demon muttered, trudging forward. She moved ahead until she was even with Shippo, floating with his regained powers and occasionally dodging to Mrioku's side when he started coughing. Catching to the kitsune angel before his task started another fit, Netsuna kept up a steady pace with him. "Shippo." She said as casually as she could, not trying to startle the fox. 

"Y-yes?" Shippo said, trying not to look as timid as he felt. 

"What do you know of the Samiyoushi poison?" The cat asked. Shippo blinked. 

"The Samiyoushi?" He repeated blankly. 

"The bees you idiot!" Netsuna snapped, her patience thinning. Shippo whimpered. "Oh yeah. Um… uh.. They're Naraku's bees… created from blackened shards of the Keyjewel…" He trembled. 

"Do you remember the cure?" Netsuna said as coolly as possible. Shippo shook his head.

"A Keyjewel shard, obviously." The demon said as nicely as she could through gritted teeth. Shippo blinked and grinned. 

"Yes! A shard! Of course! Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" He said, hugging Netsuna tightly, almost cutting off the cat's air supply. He leaped over to Miroku, who quickly hid the blood he just coughed up, and beamed up at him, pulling the Shikon no Tama shard they had pulled off of  Suikotsu. "Look Miroku!" He squeaked. "This shard will cure the Samiya- the Samoyi – the bee's poison!" He said ecstatically. "It'll make you better!"

"Of course," Netsuna said offhandedly, "it would also heal Sango and wake her up."

Everything froze.

Kirrara has stopped to see Miroku's reaction. Miroku was staring unblinkingly at the small pink sliver in Shippo's hands and Shippo was giving the look of utmost detest to Netsuna for making him choose like this. The wolf soldiers had stopped to see if there was a fight. (centuries of the same lifestyle is hard to change)

Netsuna stood there, one hand on her hip, ears forward, tail halfway in the air, with the most arrogant smirk on her face. Come on… she thought, show me whatcha got. 

Miroku calmly held out his hand to his angel. "Shippo, can I have the shard?" He asked. Shippo brightened and nearly shoved the sliver into Miroku's hand, giving Sango's unconscious form an apologetic look. 

Miroku turned the small piece of the Keyjewel in his hand, watching Hell's dim light reflect off of it. He then looked at Netsuna, his expression perfectly serious. "Alright, how does it help Sango?"

Netsuna blinked, and nearly grinned when she tapped the back of her neck. "Just put it on the back of her neck." She said. "In a few minutes she should wake up."

Miroku nodded and carefully touched the shard to the back of Sango's neck, where it glowed slightly and stuck itself there. He carefully wrapped his arms around her once more and leaned his chin on her shoulder, waiting for her to wake up.

"Ew…" One of the wolves gagged, then looked over at Netsuna. "Eh, what's the matter with you? You look like you're on crack or something."

"Hmm?' Netsuna blinked, then shot a glare over at the wolves. "None of your business, goons. I'm going to scout ahead." She said, disappearing before anyone could give a mention. 

Skipping over rocks and boulders, she sped up her pace, running faster as, should anything be watching in the dead country, she would seem to melt into the background like a shadow darting forward. Dashing over the rugged country she came to a halt at blackened ruins, wrinkling her nose at the scent of blood and death; too much for her taste. Hopping to the top of the highest blacked rock, she peered out into the surrounding atmosphere. The sight that greeted her made her ears flip back and forward, unsure to be worried or giggly. She sat on her haunches and put her head in her hands, trying to contact her brother, tail flickering in the dank, stale air. 

"The hell ran up her ass?" One of the wolf soldiers said, scratching his nose. His companions shrugged and glanced over at the two humans and angels. Kirrara was standing with her head turned, watching her sleeping task to see if she'd wake up; feeling the wolves eyes on them, the giant feline turned and gave a deep growl to let the demons know they should keep their distance. The wolves grinned and waved nervously, not wanting to tangle with the angered cat, who snorted and began moving forward. Figuring that hanging around would get them killed, the small demon group followed behind. 

Miroku kept his eyes closed, the steady movements (if not the occasional limp) of Kirrara making him drowsy. His coughs were less frequent and violent, more than likely due to the fact that Keyjewel shard was so close to him. He could feel Sango's breathing becoming more steady and smiled, hugging her close. Last thing he wanted in this fight was to lose someone, most especially the violent but obviously madly in love with him girl, he smirked. After all, their former selves had gotten married and had many children; why fight fate? He moved his hand a bit lower, surely since she wasn't even awake he wouldn't mind.

A sharp elbow reached his gut before his hand ever made it to his destination. Startled he pulled back to see Sango watching him warily and wearily. 

"Houshi-sama, while I can't say I'm not surprised, I wouldn't place you as someone to take advantage of a girl sleeping."

"Advantage? Whatever do you mean?" Miroku asked smiling. He winced and straightened his back, putting a hand to where Sango had elbowed him. Kirrara and the wolves had stopped and where watching as Miroku suddenly fell into a violent coughing fit that didn't sound to pleasant. 

"Miroku?" Sango blinked in worry, sitting up. A small tickling sensation came from the back of her neck and she reached up to feel a strange bump.

"Sango, don't!" Shippo said, jumping on her shoulder and swatting her hand away from the Shikon shard. "That's a piece of the Keyjewel and it's the only thing keeping you alive right now." He squeaked, then turned to his hacking task. "Miroku? Are you going to be okay?"

"What happened?" Sango asked, feeling frightened right now. Shippo stood on Miroku's knee and watching him, feeling helpless. 

"Miroku was fighting Suikotsu, the guy who nearly killed you, and used his air rip to defeat him, but a bunch of bees Naraku created flew into the rip and their poison is killing Mioku!" Shippo wrung his tail even as Miroku's cough started to subside before he let out another loud hack again. 

"Kami!" Sango put a hand to her mouth and tentatively put a hand on Miroku's shoulder as he wheezed. "Is there any way to save him?"

Shippo looked at her forlornly. "The only way is with a piece of the Keyjewel; and we only have one."

Sango blinked and put a finger on the shard glued to the back of her neck. She bit her lip for a  second and then dug her nails underneath it, feeling it flicker a bit of power as it started to come off of her skin.

"No." Miroku said, breathing heavily and moving his hand away from his mouth. Sango tried to conceal her shook when she saw the amount of blood on Miroku's hand, which he quickly hid behind his back. 

"But Houshi-sama…"

"NO, Sango." Miroku said, giving a few small coughs and smiling. "We're bound to come across another minion of Naraku's soon, also carrying a Keyjewel shard. We can use that one for." Another small bout of coughing, which sounded less painful, interrupted him for a moment before he continued. "I'd much rather see your face before I die then to watch your face as you die." He said quietly. 

"But… I…" Sango said in an undecided voice. She looked up as Miroku started coughing again, much more harshly and violently than before. "Are you alright?" Sango said in worry. 

"Miroku!" Shippo said as Miroku doubled over, hacking. Kirrara and the wolf army stopped and watched as Shippo and Sango eased Miroku off of the tiger and leaned him against a rock as his coughing became more and more violent. The wolves looked at each other uneasily as Shippo panicked. 

"Miroku! Hang in there! Please? Come on!" He squealed. Sango put a hand on the monk's shoulder and a determined look came to her eyes. 

"I am not watching you die like this!" She said, digging her nails underneath the shard on her neck. 

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. You would die and think how terrible that would be."

Everyone turned to see who the voice belonged to, seeing a tall, pale man in dark cloaks standing there, a slightly amused smile on his face. "Should you die that'd be upset. He'd probably take his life anyway, or waste it in some useless kamikaze attack."

"Who…" Sango began, but Shippo's high-pitched squeal and Kirrara's growling, not to mention the fact that the wolf army had backed up a good ten feet answered her question. She glared at the man. "You're Naraku, aren't you?"

"Hmm? Yes, I suppose I am." Naraku said, smiling coldly. Miroku let out a particularly violent cough, sounding like he was trying to say something. Sango turned her attention from Naraku briefly to pat Miroku's back, worry etched all across her face. 

"You can fix him you know, it's not too late." Naraku said coolly. Sango glared at him and the demon that was the cause of all this suffering smiled. "All you need is a Keyjewel shard."

"We have one already." Sango said through gritted teeth, clenching her fist. This man… no, this monster, killed Kohaku, who used Kohaku to kill her, who started this whole mess that was winding up with so many people dead…

"Oh, I know." Naraku said, coolly regarding the wolf army and the shivering Shippo. "But then you'd die, and we've just gone over the consequences of that problem, haven't we?"

Sango turned away, ignoring him as she tried to keep Miroku together as he sounded like he was being ripped apart.

"The poison's killing him, destroying his organs slowly. He's going to die painfully, I can assure you that. But I do have a shard that you could use…"

Sango's head snapped towards him.

Naraku smiled. "You'll just have to take it from my young assistant here. Go ahead boy, I don't believe you've met." His cold smile turned more sinister as Sango's eyes widened and her had to brace herself against the ground, looking nearly ready to faint. 

"Stand aside Nephew." The Fourth Lord said, drawing his sword and advancing on Inu-Yasha and Kagome's vanishing body.

"What do you plan on doing, Sesshoumaru?" Inu-Yasha growled, holding onto Kagome with a death grip. Sesshoumaru frowned, glaring at his nephew. 

"We don't have time for this." He said, suddenly vanishing and reppearing behind Inu-Yasha, grabbing him by the neck and throwing him aside. Then his raised his sword and slashed through Kagome ten times. 

"NO!" Inu-Yasha screamed, knocking Sesshoumaru aside.

"She's already dead…" Mizuki muttered, then blinked. Inu-Yasha had frozen as well, as Kagome's body suddenly became opaque again. 

Reaching tentatively forward, Inu-Yasha touched Kagome's arm, felt it solid and drew back as the girl stirred. Sitting up slowly and painfully, Kagome wrapped her arms around her waist, grimacing. "What just…" She started, when she was cut off.

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha grabbed her in a bear hug, nearly crying. Before her crushed her ribs, he pulled her away from him just as quickly, glaring at him. "Don't ever do that again, okay wench?"

"Do what?" Kagome asked, her head reeling and so confused by now. Inu-Yasha seemed unsure what emotion to feel right now, his face twitching. He simply grabbed Kagome in a bear hug again. 

"Just… don't ever leave me again." He said quietly. 

"Inu-Yasha?" Kagome said, completely confused right now. "What ha-" She saw Sesshoumaru, Mizuki and Kuro-michi and blinked. "I am so confused by now…" She muttered.

"GUYS!" A scream suddenly ripped though the air and Inu-Yasha let go of Kagome as a blur of black and brown appeared, as Netsuna landed in a panic. She looked around at everyone before grabbing Inu-Yasha. 

"You have to get back to Sango and the others! Hurry! You have to!"

"What's going on Netsuna?" Kagome asked, confusion of her own peril gone by now. Fur standing on end, ears completely flattened and eyes wide, Netsuna looked at her with fear. 

"Miroku's dying and Naraku's there!" She said. 

"What?" Sesshoumaru snapped and Kuro-michi grabbed the catgirl by the shoulder. 

"What's happening?"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left!" Netsuna apologized. "But you have to get back, quickly! Sango's pratically alone back there and she's fighting her brother! Hurry!"

End chapter 46

Miroku's coughing fit brought to you by my pneumonia bout.

Update! Soon! I promise on my grave!

~Ama


	47. Chapter 47: Sister

Disclaimer: I own Guardian Angel! It's mine! All mine! Just not most of the characters…

I'm baaaaaack! Happy Halloween to everyone! I'm going to the Stratford festival tomorrow, so I thought that I'd better finish this up whip-dee-doo-da-day real quick! My muse has returned and I think I finally have a definite plot line and end for this story, sad as I am to say it. But chapters should al be in before 2004! All thanks to the Evanesance (sp?) CD I bought. All those harsh and really depressing songs… this chapter is especially influenced by this music. 

And, of course, all you readers. I've decided to put a one-line shoutout to everyone who reviewed chap 46, all you veterans and newbies. It'll be at the end of the chapter. Hey, guess what?

Guardian Angel is over 1 year old! 

Counting from Oct 14, 2002, Guardian Angel was published and started this small but loyal fanbase that is you, my loyal and loving readers. I love you all! Over 800 reviews too! You guys are the greatest!

Well, read the chapter, be amazed (I hope), be shocked and then read your little blurbs. I really, really, really love you!

*huggle*

Oh, and since it's Halloween week, here, have candy *throws candy in air*

****

**Chapter 47:**

** Sister**

****

Sango didn't know how much more she could take, holding onto her arm wound, trying to keep in the blood for the majority of the part, squinting as blood from another cut on her forehead began to trickle in her eye. The tell-tale whish of air warned her as she moved just out of the way, feeling another paper-thin cut slice across her, wincing as this one hit her finger knuckle. 

Sucking on the sensitive wound, she glanced over at the shell of her late brother… and at the stoic demon behind him. Naraku stood there, his pale, delicate features emotionless but when he caught Sango's hard glare, he smiled warmly at her. Trying not to show her hatred, probably failing, Sango turned her attention back to the slave that was her brother. 

"Kohaku! Please stop this!" She shouted at him as he wrapped the chain of his sickle weapon around his hand, preparing for another throw. "Kohaku!"

The boy stared unblinking and unseeing at her, before throwing the blade at his sister again. Sango dodged and swung recklessly at the chain with her sword, stabbing it through a chain link. Taking the chance, she grabbed the hilt of her sword and drove it as deep into the ground as she could, trapping the boy's weapon. Kohaku tugged at the chain like a broken toy, until he seemed to realize the futility of it. Dropping his chain he looked blankly as his heavily breathing sister.

Trying to catch her breath Sango closed her eyes in pain as she saw her brother unsheathe a sword she hadn't seen, trying to keep up with the hope he had been otherwise weaponless. But of course not. Naraku was behind this and he had planned everything meticulously. She looked over at Miroku, who's coughing had stopped, but that only made her more worried as she watched Shippo frantically doing every bit of magic he knew to try and keep the pale monk alive. He was beginning to bleed from everywhere… 

Painfully she stood up and faced her brother, who was walking towards her in no obvious hurry. She noticed his hand was still on the chain, leaving her defenceless unless she decided to allow him the sickle again. She grabbed the sword hilt and pushed it deeper into the ground; no point in Kohaku grabbing that sword and having three weapons against her. 

Kohaku didn't even glance at the weapons as he walked passed them, instead stopping before his sister and preparing to strike her. 

"Kohaku… please…" Sango said pleadingly as he swung the sword above his head and brought it down on her. She grabbed his arm to stop him, struggling against how strong he was. 

Kirrara stepped up, growling and walking forward, even though against her wounds. Shippo turned from tending to Miroku to jump on the thick matted fur of the cat's back, tugging on her ears. "Kirrara! You can't go, it's too dangerous!"

The giant cat growled and shook her head to send the little fox flying off, growling at him to take care of his own task. Setting her sights back on Sango, Kirrara flung herself forward to save her task. 

"Kirrara!" Sango cried as her angel knocked her brother to the ground. The boy had no reaction except to swing his sword into the cat's body. Snarling, Kirrara dug her fangs into Kohaku's arm, as Naraku's slave merely switched arms and started slashing at her from the other side. 

"Kirrara, stop!" Sango said, running to the giant cat and grabbing her brother's arm to stop the sword from cutting deeper. Kirrara growled at her, dropping Kohaku's arm. 

"I know we have to get the shard!" Sango pleaded. "But this is my fight!"

"She's right." Naraku said coldly, snapping his fingers. Vines sprung out of the ground and wrapped around Kirrara's neck, dragging her off of Kohaku and immobilizing her to the ground. Weak from all their encounters and her futile struggles against the vines, Kirrara let out a distressed and transformed to her smaller form, the vines contracting tightly around her still.

"Oh look," Naraku said unpleasantly. "Now you have _two_ lives to save."

Sango was about to reply when her brother twisted his arm, breaking her concentration and balance. Regaining her footing just in time she turned to face Kohaku, only to realize that she was weaponless. She clenched her fists and backed up, trying to figure out how to get past her brother to retrieve her weapon. She didn't have the time to concentrate up another one.

Kohaku charged her, with an upwards slash she avoided but stumbled as she ducked backwards to avoid the blade. Kohaku kept up against her relentlessly as she moved backwards, trying to find an opening when her back met solid stone; she had backed right up to one of the many large boulders dotting the land. 

Kohaku made to strike at her again, again from above. Sango grabbed her brother's arms as she tried to fight off the sharp blade coming closer and closer to here face. 

"Miroku!" Shippo's scream cut through the air and battle atmosphere and Sango immediately turned her attention to the fox, who was clutching to Miroku's hand… a hand that was semi-transparant.

"No!" Sango flung Kohaku to the ground, immobilizing him for a moment. "Miroku!" She ran up to the monk, who's breathing was completely erratic as his muscles twitched helplessly in his body. 

"Sango, nothing's working! I can't help him!" Shippo wailed, wringing his hands as he looked at his dying task. "He's gonna die!"

"No…" Sango put a hand on his forehead, amazed at the utter coldness of his skin, pulling back to see a thin layer of his blood coating her palm. "No… I won't!"

"Sango?" Shippo looked up at the determined girl with a bit of nervousness. 

"I won't let him die! He can't, the selfish bastard!" She said, sitting Miroku  up against her, looping her arms through his to keep him from falling. "I won't let him!"

"Sango, wait!" Shippo jumped up, but Sango half-heartedly knocked him aside, tears in her eyes. 

"I won't let him." She said quietly, digging her nails into the back of her skin, removing the Shikon shard from her neck and swiftly nearly stabbed it in between Miroku's shoulders. A hot, flashing pain shot through her from where the jewel was, leaving her feeling drained… Suddenly her wounds hurt more, her healed arm began to fail again, her vision went blurry. 

"Sango!" Shippo screeched. Sango closed her eyes wearily and opened them again to see Kohaku standing over her, sword raised. 

"Well, now see what you've done? You're too weak to fight your brother and even if the Keyjewel shard revives the monk, he'll be too weak to fight us off and I'll just take the jewel piece for myself anyway." Naraku said with a hint of a smile. Sango clenched her fist into the ground. Naraku's cold laughter echoed in her ears as Kohaku brought his sword down.

"No!" She screamed as loud as she could, rolling to both avoid the sword coming down and to catch Kohaku's legs with her own, bringing her brother down. 

Breathing heavily she stood up and grabbed Kohaku's sword before he could reach it. The boy gave her a blank look and jumped back to avoid her slash at him, grabbing the other sword that had still been stabbed into the ground. He took a stance, waiting for her next move. 

Naraku raised an eyebrow in interest. "Well, you still have fight left in you."

"I'm not letting you take anything back, Naraku." Sango nearly spat. "You've already taken my brother. You're not having anything else." She held the sword in front of her, facing off against the shell that was once her brother. 

"Sango!" a familiar, lost voice called out and she looked up to see Kagome, Inu-Yasha, Netsuna and two other demons on a rock outcrop above them. Kagome was being carried piggy-back style by Inu-Yasha, who was looking at the scene with a hard gaze. Kagome's was one of fright.

"Sango! What's going on? What's wrong with Miroku?" She asked worriedly. Inu-Yasha placed Kagome in the arms of a confused Netsuna and drew his sword. 

"No." Sango said flatly before the threeblood could transform it. "This is my battle. I can save myself."

"Fuck no, you think I'm gonna just stand here?" Inu-Yasha snarled, but an arm across the chest stopped him and he glared at the wolf solider who had just done the move. The rest of the small army was seated on top of the cliff and were watching the battle with interest.

"What the hell? What are you guys doing up here?" The threeblood sputtered. "You're letting a human girl fight _Naraku_ all by herself?"

"She's not fighting Naraku."

"That's Naraku?!" Kagome gasped, looking at the cold, handsome man smiling heartless back up at them. 

"What do you mean she's not fighting Naraku?" Inu-Yasha hissed. The wolf army's appointed speaker shook his head. 

"She's fighting her brother. This isn't a fight we wolves get involved in; family is family, corrupt or no."

"You're letting her and Miroku die because of fuckin' _principals?_"

The speaker  shook his head. "Rules are rules to the wolf pack, no matter what. Besides, she herself acknowledges that this is a war only she can fight. You have to learn respect."

"He's right, ya know." Mizuki butted in, ignoring the glare he received. "She said so 'erself. She's gets knocked out, then we can help and everyone will be 'appy, provided she doesn't die. Besides, shouldn't we, ah, be looking at the white fellow? I mean, I don't' think he's dead but he looks like 'e's going over the edge soon."

"He'll be fine. The girl gave him her shard." Kuro-michi said quietly, watching brother and sister face off. 

"What?"

I won't lose, Sango thought grimly. I can't lose. If I lose then Naraku gets the Keyjewel shards and the world will end. I have to kill Naraku. I have to kill Kohaku to be strong. 

Images of Kohaku sick and dying as a demon ate away at his soul, unknown to his family. Of Kohaku's funeral. Of  Kohaku returning, but not as Kohaku but a demon wearing his body. Of the way Kohaku stabbed the sword right through her. Of Kohaku screaming as she pushed him into the burning house in her final moments of life. Screaming her name.

She made a face, scrunching up the tears. There must be sacrifices.

She shifted weight to her back leg, preparing to go after her brother. Kohaku sensed her movement and tensed up, but it was too late and Sango knew it. She took the chance and charged forward.

Kohaku avoided her clumsy swing easily and parried with an uppercut to the right, which Sango blocked with her blade, pushing him to the side. She swung at him again and he blocked but she quickly sliced from another direction, keeping up a relentless attack to keep him on the defense. Pain throbbed in every muscle of her body but she ignored it. She was going to defeat her brother if it killed her for the second time.

Suddenly Kohaku's blade caught her finger, opening a wound right to the bone. Sango lost her footing and banked left, clenching her fist in the sharp pain. The break in her attacks gave her body time to catch it's breath, but her panting was only serving to slow her down. Kohaku turned to face her and charged at her again, the look on his near expressionless face an obedient determination to kill her. 

Sango blocked, ignoring the wound on her finger as she and Kohaku exchanged blow for blow, both on the offensive now. She was dimly aware of Kagome calling her name, but she hardly had time to focus on stuff like that right now. 

There must be sacrifices, she thought over the pounding in her head as she pushed more and more strength on her brother. There must be sacrifices. There must be sacrifices. There must be…

A rock slipped out from under her foot and she came crashing down, but with fast thinking swung hard upwards, catching Kohaku's sword by the hilt and sending it flying. With an instant she was up and punched her brother square in the chest. 

The force of the blow knocked him over and she placed a foot on his chest, disabling him from getting up, her sword a hair's breadth from his throat. She stared at him hard, catching her breath in pants.

"What's she doing?" Inu-Yasha wondered aloud in a low growl. "Why isn't she kill him?"

Kohaku stared up at her with his blank, soulless stare and Sango pressed the sword closer, against his throat, feeling the blade break a small bit of skin.

"Well, well, well, looks like you have won after all. I'm impressed." Naraku said, applauding slowly. Sango looked up at him with nearly soulless eyes herself, as blood ran down her blade from the wound on her finger. Slowly she raised her weapon and pointed it at Kohaku's sword which had landed near Naraku's feet.

"Pick that up." She said quietly. 

"What is she doing?" Inu-Yasha snapped. "What the hell is she doing?"

"hmm?" Naraku looked at the object in question with alien interest. 

"Pick it up." Sango repeated darkly. "I won't fight you while you're weaponless."

Naraku's gaze returned on her, a slight look of interest in his cold eyes. Everyone else looked at Sango in shock 

With one final deep breath Sango launched herself off of her brother and charged Naraku, sword hilt grasped in both hands as she slashed at him. In an instant the demon grabbed the sword and avoided her attack but Sango didn't stop to duel blades and slashed at him again. She restarted her relentless attacks she had been doing with Kohaku, driving Naraku back in a fierceness that was nearly frightening.

"Wow, look at her." One of the wolves whistled.

"Now she's fighting Naraku. Can we go help?" Inu-Yasha snarled. 

"She seems fine on her own." Netsuna mused. 

"Now Sango, do you really think this will accomplish anything?" Naraku said as he parried Sango with mocking ease. "It's your brother you should be fighting, not me."

"You're the reason I'm fighting my brother!" Sango cried, and suddenly seemed to speed up, forcing Naraku back and with one swift, solid motion cut Naraku's sword hand clean off. The entire desert of Hell was silent as the hand and sword clattered to the ground behind Sango, who aimed the sword at Naraku's heart. Even the demon just managed to conceal his amazement. 

"Whew." Mizuki whistled in approval.

"Well, she is one of the saviors of existence." Netsuna grinned. 

"Never." Sango said through hooded eyes that were fixed on Naraku's heart. "Underestimate human emotions."

Naraku's shock and anger melted to a smugness. "Of course, how could I forget?" He said, looking past Sango, something she realized all too late. 

"_Sango, look out!_"

Kagome's scream was the only thing that rang through the desert as pain sliced deep into Sango's heart and the world went white. 

"Sango! No!" Kagome screamed as Kohaku removed his sword and watched his sister slump lifelessly to the ground, blood leaking out of the wound in her heart he had just inflicted. Naraku smiled. 

"Human emotions. Pitiful." He said, turning to the unconscious Miroku, Kirrara and Shippo guarding them both, although his fear was apparent.

"Fuck this." Inu-Yasha snapped and dove forward, landing between Naraku and the angels and human. The blood Tetsusaiga was drawn and aimed right at the Outcast demon. 

"Threeblood." Naraku said with disdain, looking Inu-Yasha over. "Don't think you'll defeat me this time like your predecessors have before. I, unlike you, have learned from my mistakes and am now stronger than ever. You, however, seem to be bent on the same play, the same story, the same script every time." He looked pointedly at the outcrop, where Kuro-Michi and Netsuna watched back with nothing written on their faces. With his signature cold smile Naraku turned back to Inu-Yasha. "Yet you'll still want to fight."

"I'm not my old man." Inu-Yasha said, preparing to attack. "And I 'ain't following a fuckin' script. I'm doing this my way: Beating the shit out of you."

"Hmm, I believe your father said the same thing." Naraku said near tauntingly. Inu-Yasha growled.

The demon looked at the threeblood and then shrugged. "My minions are already destroying the mortal plane. The plane of Heaven is covered in blood and the plane of Hell is vanishing to a storm. It would be a waste of my time to fight you, and should by miracle you defeat me, it would be a waste of all our times. So instead I will depart. After all, it is much more profitable for me to make you wait. The end of existence is near."

With that his form wavered and disappeared, even as Inu-Yasha let out a strangled yell and charged him, his sword slashing through nothing. 

"Sango!" Kagome ran up to her friend and held onto her shoulders as Sango tried to push herself up.   
Stop moving, you're bleeding!"

"I think I can see that, Kagome-chan." Sango smiled weakly, holding onto her wound. She closed her eyes as if in an effort to conserve energy. "Is… is Houshi-sama going to be okay?" She asked. 

Kagome smiled, fighting back tears. "Miroku's going to be fine, Shippo says. But Naraku's left and we have to go and find him again…"

"I know." Sango sighed. "Sorry I lost my temper and the fights."

"No Sango! Don't apologize!" Kagome griped the older girl's shoulder. "You were awesome! The way you fought Naraku and wounded him! It was just because.. because of…"

"Big sister?"

Kagome and Sango looked up to see Kohaku standing over them, the bloodied sword he had run Sango through dangling limply in one hand. His eyes were no long blank, but filled with fear. 

"Did… did I do this?"

"Kohaku…" Sango said so quietly it was nearly inaudible.

Kohaku dropped to his knees, the sword falling to the ground beside him. Tears filled his eyes as he looked at his sister's bleeding wound. "I… I remember everything… the demon possessing me…  me killing you… me fighting you over and over again even though I wanted to stop…" His voice broke up.

"It wasn't you Kohaku." Sango said, crying herself. 

"Naraku was doing it, but your soul is free again." Kagome added, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. He felt cold, and his aura was thick, but Kagome assumed it was from the possession for so long. 

"Sister, can you forgive me?" The sobbing boy asked. Sango nodded. Crying, Kohaku leaned forward to hug his older sister.

Sango reached forward but never placed her arms around him as her younger brother's blood spattered her face. The red sword had cut cleanly through the boy's neck and the body turned to dust before the head even hit the ground. Inu-Yasha stood up and sheathed Tetsusaiga, a hard look on his face. 

End chapter 47

Now 'ows that for an ending, eh? Thought it up last week and perfected it today. Hopefully, despite the fact that it takes so long to get this chapters up, they're getting better. Emotional poking it hard to write dammit! Almost as hard as fluff!

And now, the shoutouts I promised:

**Kurokumo: **May the golf course be with you.

**whatever.com: **Newreader in a four-day span! Woo! And that's my personal swearstring. You got something against it, you talk to ME

**mattielover:** Thank you for being considerate. Hope you remember me and come back to read!

**Reverie-sama: ** Well, it's good that you've been here for a long time, and that you're still here. I got turned into a newt you see, but I got better…

**Sweetdaeth: **Soon enough? Probably not. Sorry.

**Ghoul King: **Wow, not only a new reader but a new reader with a bunch of Necromancers! Could my fandom get any better?

**link no miko:** … I just can't reply to that in one sentence. Hopefully next chapter I'll have more time and can write a full length reply. You know I luv ya tho, link!

**Liena:**Yeah, my Naraku's kinda OOC… but he's my kinda villain!

**Elf:** You're welcome!

**moon-neko-princess:** You're going to that Montreal convention? I hate you! I was supposed to go to it but then ym parents said no! Darn it! (yay, new reader and yay, I'm assuming stupid things) You notice wonderful things. I love you.

**vold:** You can't write a long review, I can't write a long reply! We're even!

**youkai chick supreme:** And the plot thickens…

**tOkU-cHaN:** Nice name. I am not evil. Or else I'd be the villain in this story *polishes nails*

**Litwolf689:** I update sooner!

Remember this is only for chap 46 reviews, so don't feel left out, okay?

New chapter coming ASAP! And in your reviews guys, trying giving me tips and tricks and point out things, like link no miko and moon-neko-princess! It helps me realize things I missed and makes Ama a better writer! 

~Ama


	48. Chapter 48: Trials

Disclaimer: Guardian Angel is mine! All mine! Mwahahahahahaha! *cough* Until I change the name of the characters…

Look! It's a bird! It's a plane! No! It's AMA!!!!!!!

Yes everyone, I'm alive and quite well. I read your most recent worryings about me, (link and Alyer.) So many reviews! Do I truly have time to write response to them all? No, unfortunately I do not, for I am tired and sick from flu. I would just like to say that my absence was extremely terrible, (over a month, unforgiving!) and that it would have been posted on Friday had not my computer been dismantled. 

I thank you all for your patience (and your worry)

And to clear some things up: Sango will not die, you will soon find out about the mystery of Kohaku's 'coming back', Inu-Yasha had just off Kohaku's head in the last two sentences of the last chapter and my dog has fleas.

Thank you.

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**Chapter 48: **

**Trials**

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                The silence that filled the air as Kohaku's head hit the ground was painful to hear, the only sound the whispering of the wind as it blew the ashes of what had once been Sango's brother across the ground. Inu-Yasha's face was emotionless as Sango suddenly let out a strangled cry and lurched forward, as Kagome grabbed her in time to stop the older girl from hitting the ground. Sango's broken sobs ripped through the air as Kagome glared up at her angel. 

"Inu-Yasha!" She said, tears bordering on her eyes. "What did you do that for? He was fine!"

The threeblood snorted, his red irises making him look dangerous. "Oh yeah, he was in his right mind all right."

"You killed her brother!" Kagome managed to spit out. "You dirty, two-faced bastard! Every time I think you're getting better and that you're not an asshole, every time I start to actually think you have a heart or maybe even a soul, every time I actually start to have feelings for you again, you do something like this! It's nothing to you, this is nothing to you! It's all about being better, being stronger, and you can't understand why people need emotions, so you just eliminate them! You're no better than Naraku, but at least _he_ kept Kohaku alive, but you just broke Sango's heart! Why don't you go and kill Miroku too, you lousy scum, and see how much more damage to can do to her! What did she ever do to you, you fu-"

"_I saved her life_!" Inu-Yasha's words echoed fiercely in the plains. The small wolf army and the other demons had come down from the cliff face and were standing there, watching, some with confusion, some with understanding, some with indifference. Both Kagome and Inu-Yasha were shaking with fury at each other; Sango had cried herself into unconsciousness. 

Mizuki took a few sniffs in the air and made a face. He then glanced at Inu-Yasha, something dawning on him, and turned to look behind him. "Hey, kid. C'mere."

Shippo, who had been tending to the healing but still unwell Miroku and Kirrara, quickly scurried over at the kappa's beckon. His tail shaking like that of a nervous squirrel's, he squeezed between the legs of the wolves and immediately made a face. 

"Ew, doppelganger!" He squealed, clamping his hands over his nose. It was only then what he realised he had blurted out and instead moved his small hands to his mouth, eyes wide with horror. 

Kagome wasn't as quick as the demons, until she looked at the small, slightly blackened area of where Kohaku had lain. A metallic glint she hadn't seen before caught her eye and as if on cue a wind moved the ashes, showing a hidden dagger. The cold, demonic aura she had felt from the boy suddenly made sense… a hand flew to here mouth and she gasped, her eyes flickering from the spot to Inu-Yasha. "Oh my…"

"Keh." Inu-Yasha grunted, pulling a piece of the Keyjewel from his pocket and tossing it to Kagome. "There. Keep her better, even if she tries to kill me. If you punks want me, I'll be over at Naraku's, kicking his ass." He turned around the walked away as the sky began to get even darker and a flash of lightning filled the sky. Suddenly Kagome was painfully aware of every faded white scar of unhealed tissue, a painful two-century reminder of his short comings as a mixed breed that nobody wanted…

"Inu-Yasha." She called out loudest she could without breaking down. Her guardian angel's ears twitched, as if he heard her, but then a peal of thunder drowned out any reply he might have had. He didn't stop walking and the dust kicked up by the sudden winds and the rain that began to pour down obscured his silhouette until after the latest lightning flash they lost sight of him. 

Everything that had been building up in Kagome finally broke inside of her; one of the wolf demons eased Sango off of her and Shippo put a comforting hand on her knee, as Kagome curled up into a tight ball and began to cry.

Bankotsu was drinking some warm concoction he had thought up under a rocky lean-to he had built, his large sword at his side, meditating on his opponent's whereabouts when he noticed the slight disturbance. Smiling to himself he tossed the cup aside and stood up, cracking his joints and stretching his muscles from the restrictive meditation before picking up his weapon. He took one step forward, crouched low as prepared to sneak up on his enemy. No sooner then he had stepped out into the rain did something change.

And Bankotsu laughed. 

Strapping the sword to his back he stood up straight and walked unafraid towards the other human being in the rain. When the woman sensed him he opened his arms in a harmless, friendly gesture. 

"Well, well, what's a woman like you doing in a place like this?" He said with a chuckle. "Not exactly an exotic getaway…" His voice trailed off and he frowned. 

The woman gave him a cold glance, looking him up and down. "I'd much rather ask why a man who's been dead for near five centuries is suddenly walking again."

"Either you knew me or you're a great historian." Bankotsu said, falling into step with her, keeping up the cheerful person. "Although I doubt the first, for I would never forget such a face. Trying the turn the rain to snow?"

"You speak very eloquently for a killer." Was his stony reply. Bankotsu smirked slightly and turned to face the direction they were headed. "Judging from your direction, you've jumped and bandwagon and are off to kill Naraku, right?"

"No." The response managed to shock the killer, but his composure showed nothing of it. "I'm going to kill the killer."

"Oh really?" Bankotsu stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Funny, as how I was hired to kill the killer of the man I'm going to kill. Six degrees and all that, hmm? Still," He added, "it's odd how an angel would kill the killer of a demon."

"Third time's a charm." The woman said dryly. Bankotsu chuckled. "Now if I could only remember your name.. started with a 'Ka' sound if I'm not mistaken…"

"My mother's name was Kaoru, she was the second. Mine is Kikyou."

"Of course, how things change in a couple of centuries…" Bankotsu mused. "You seem to know bits and pieces about me… perhaps my name so there are no needless introductions?"

"I have forgotten, because I don't care to remember." Kikyou said, still walking as though he weren't there and the rain wasn't beating mercilessly on them.

"Fair enough." The killer shrugged. "Bankotsu should you care to remember it."

They continued walking in silence for a few moments until the terrain began to become familiar to the assassin again. Bankotsu turned to Kikyou. "Say, since we're both out to kill the little threeblood, how are we going to decide this?"

Kikyou finally turned to look at him, her gaze unfeeling. "You leave Inu-Yasha to me."

Bankotsu gave his warm smile. "No problem, make the job easier. It's not like I'm getting paid or anything, you can play with the puppy all you like."

Kikyou made no reply and they continued their journey. "Once more thing…" Bankotsu gave his chin a few strokes as they walked past two rather large cliff-faces. "You're an angel, but you don't seem very angelic… Why?"

"I'm a bastardized form of an angel, with half a soul that was robbed from a mortal girl, resurrected in Hell. But more recently," Kikyou reached into her robes and pulled out a worn red and white paper fan, "I killed a demon and stole her soul."

Following Inu-Yasha's tracks was difficult. After Miroku had finally woken up, and it was explained to him why he was being carried bride-style by a male wolf soldier, he had gotten up and now sat with Sango and Kirrara in a small wooden cart Shippo had managed to work up with the help of Kuro-michi, pulled by two uncomplaining wolves. As both task and guardian were unconscious, Miroku just sat there wordlessly, stroking Sango's hair occasionally. 

Kagome was somewhere in the middle of the little parade, holding Shippo tightly, her eyes on the ground as she walked mechanically. The words she had spoken to Inu-Yasha repeated themselves in her head over and over again, like the last hateful words to someone before they died. The look he had given her, a look devoid of anger or hate, only pain and betrayal. 

She remembered the first day she had met Inu-Yasha and getting so angry at him when he had taken her away before she could see her mother at the morgue. How she had hurt him and then left, only to realize the stupidity of her actions and then nearly get eaten by a demon.

Some strange reasoning then brought up that if she had never run away they would have never met Miroku and Shippo…

Mizuki, Kuro-michi and Netsuna were at the front, the kappa being the only one who could track in the steady downpour. Despite all that had happened, the kappa was still chatting animatedly to the brother and sister pair about this one time in the mortal realm.

Netsuna shook her head. "Micky, you're so weird."

Mizuki blinked. "Ey, it wasn't me that was turning to fluffy white water!"

The cat demon smacked him over the head. "It's called snow you freak. And I was talking about _you_ you; how you're still so cheerful after all that's happened."

Mizuki shrugged. "Didn't happen to me."

That earned him another smack. "Don't you have any sympathy?"

"I kill for a living, don't see how it makes much of a difference." Another shrug. "I think I heard this mortal saying once… 'you gotta fall down to get up again', or some-it like that. 'Even if you miss the moon you'll fall in the stars', 'fall 7 times, get up 8', 'no pain, no gain', 'dark clouds have silver linings'… basically, according to mortals, the more shit that happens to you, the better your life will be! Or the shit kills you… I guess it all depends."

Netsuna sighed. "You're impossible."

"Still…" Mizuki's expression suddenly went serious. "I  still have some things bothering me. Like, if you're working for Naraku, how come you're helping us kill him?" he glared at Kuro-michi.

"Hold up, where'd that come from?" Netsuna asked. 

"Shush," the kappa held up a finger, "I have bad attention span, if I don't get answers now I'll forget 'em. Oh, and how come you look like a cat and you look like a walking shadow puppet but you're siblings? Was yer ma promiscuous or some-it?" 

"Some questions I won't answer." Kuro-michi said coldly. "And I was never working for Naraku, despite what you may have heard from a man who called you cute. If anything, he is working for me."

A retort Mizuki was about to make died as he blinked, trying to figure that one out. Kuro-michi smiled. "I must be off, since there are some things I still have to take care of. Besides, when my sister and I are together… bad things happen."

"Only because you start them." Netsuna said warmly. Kuro-michi's red eyes smiled and he vanished. 

"Ah… I… buh…" Mizuki blinked then pressed a palm to his forehead. "I had forgotten about the 'cute' thing." His eyebrows knotted. "Wait… do you smell that?"

Damn them all… just because he was a threeblood and he had violent tendencies and he just happened to kill some people at the wrong time… just because Kagome was a stupid bitch doesn't mean he was a dumb fuck!

Okay… that last part didn't even make sense to him. 

Inu-Yasha clenched his fists and growled to himself. He didn't know if he wanted to be angry, really fucking pissed off, depressed, killing something, rational (yeah right) or just start laughing maniacally.  Instead he just decided to keep marching to Naraku's… or at least the direction he hoped Naraku was in. Maybe if he stopped fuming over one stupid woman he'd be in the right state to save the dumb existence. 

Tch! The way she had been looking at him back there. Didn't she know that he could see what Sango was going through? He knew the exact pain she had felt, of watching a loved one die. And if he had the choice, he would have knocked Sango unconscious and dragged that damned doppelganger behind a rock and tore the living shit out of him. 

He shook the water out of his hair, a futile attempt since it just remained sopping. Standing in the rain and watched the water drip off his hair he just started laughing, running his claws through his wet mop. Kagome almost swore back there! And to think he wasn't an influence on her, the thought was just too funny on his frayed nerves. He let the rain strike his face before trying to rub the water off, shaking his head furiously to get it dry. Why was it raining? It was Hell, dammit!

Growling he just gave up and sighed, rubbing one finger on his torn ear. He missed Kagome already, even if she hated him and was yelling at him.  He smiled; was this what his father meant whenever he said he missed mom? Trying to make some sense of his soaking fringe, Inu-Yasha's ears swivelled left and right, he took a few sniffs and then seemed focused on a small knot. 

"Stop bothering to hide Blackie. You said so yourself my senses were what, eight times more powerful or something?" He said, just ripping out the knot carelessly. Kuro-michi, completely unfazed by the torrent or rain, stepped into view out of wherever he was hiding. 

"Actually, it was three times." The trespasser said in his corrective tone. 

"Three. Right. Of course, how could I forget?" The threeblood snorted and began walking again. The shadowy demon took right into gliding step beside him, yet said nothing. 

"I know why you're here." Inu-Yasha said dully, quickening his pace to a brisk walk. When the trespasser said nothing, Inu-Yasha continued. "I mean, you've only done a pretty good job of drilling it into my head, eh? Ever since I was little, just because I was my father's son. Only because I was my father's son."

"Genetics had just as much everything to do with it as spirit." Came his calm reply. Inu-Yasha's ears flattened. "Oh really? Where's Kagome's genetics then, hmm? She may physically resemble Kikyou, but she's 100 percent human and she only even has half her soul!"

"Ah, so you've found the problem. Good." The trespasser smiled. 

"Problem?" Inu-Yasha turned to him. "What problem? Why do you always have to speak in riddles, huh? Why can't you guys say anything clear? How come you're always in one form but she changes at will? Why are you always standing in the sidelines, while all this shit happens to me? Why me? Why does all this have to happen to me?!"

The fury was plainly visible in the threeblood's eyes, but Kuro-michi was unfazed by Inu-Yasha's actions. Instead he merely shook his head and looked over at Inu-Yasha calmly as ever.

"Did anyone say it was happening to you?" He asked. Inu-Yasha looked about to throw a retort, when he paused, allowing the trespasser to speak. "Did you see it written in the clouds, on the street, in a handbook to life? Have you ever thought that everything that is happening to you is merely a small aid to keep it all from burying someone else?"

Inu-Yasha's ears flattened again, but this time out of shame as he hung his head. 

"I forgive your egotistical nature Inu-Yasha, for it is in all three of your bloods. But there is a reason for everything, including why you were raised by a strict teacher, in a world that despised you when living with mortals would have been much easier. Why you were shunned, ignored, spat on, hated and alienated, so your compassion towards others would be as low as it is. There are, however, others who might not have been so fortunate to have the conditioning for this mission."

Inu-Yasha was silent for a moment, still walking steadily on.

"No. So far, very little has happened to you. In retrospect, one could say nothing has. It has all happened to the girl and you were just there to ease the burden. Still, a purpose."

"What are you saying?" Inu-Yasha growled, but spoke more civilly this time. 

"Oh, I think you already know what I'm saying." The trespasser said with a hint of amusement. 

Inu-Yasha's eyes narrowed as he glared at the ground, and then looked up to say something rude to the shadow demon. Greeted with solitude he spun around, looking for the trespasser that had stood there just seconds before. 

Looking before him, wiping his wet forelock out of his eyes, he saw two large pillars of stone that seemed the only entrance forward. Forgetting about Kuro-michi's disappearance, Inu-Yasha began to walk forward towards the space between the cliffs. 

The wind seemed to whistle more roughly and the rain seemed to batter down upon him harder as he grew closer to the opening. Lightning flashed and thunder pealed; the very echoing of the loud noise made Inu-Yasha cringe with pain. Trying to wrap his wet hair over his ears, he gritted his teeth and walked harder against the wind. 

It was soon…. Only a matter of time until he met with Naraku to finally avenge his parents and save the world. He only wished he had Kagome with him right then, just to make him feel a little stronger and a bit braver. But now he knew better about both his choices and what to do with them. Each step into the cold mud slipping between his clawed toes brought him closer to the final battle and the destiny that had been writing out for him since his father was born. 

Every day he had waited for this. Every day he had trained for this. And even though he had argued with Shippo and tried to deny it, the day had finally come. All because he was dumb enough to fall in love with a stupid mortal girl. 

Today was the day he had been told about all of his life. 

He had just never been told that he would face it alone. 

His hand went to the new Tetsusaiga by his side, the blade formed from the blood of an angel, a mortal and a demon.  His, Kagome's and that stupid kappa's. Good to know that annoying thing was good for something. 

The harshness of the wind and rain lessened and Inu-Yasha breathed a bit easier as he stepped through the opening in the rocks. Time to go and face Naraku and put an end to this stupid Third Strike…

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in."

Inu-Yasha froze mid-stretch and looked over in the direction of the voice. Standing on one of the large jagged rocks littering this much more rugged countryside, was a dangerously familiar silhouette. Lighting flashed just at that opportune moment, illuminating Bankotsu's face as he sneered. "A little puppy dog."

Inu-Yasha, in the blink of an eye, whipped out his sword and stood in a ready stance. "You! What are you doing here?!"

Bankotsu raised his arms. "Well surely after dealing with my other comrades you'd know that you would eventually face off against me.  You should be thanking me that I allowed you enough time to get as strong as you obviously are now… If only Jakotsu could see you, how happy he would be I'm sure."

Inu-Yasha growled. "I know you're not here for chat. What do you want?"

Bankotsu leaned on the hilt of his large sword, watching with interest as the rain ran down the blade in rivulets. "I'm sure, Inu-Yasha, that you are aware of how… decision orientated this whole quest is, don't you? You of all of us should know, just how important ever step and every choice is crucial to the final output, hmm?"

"What are you getting at?" Inu-Yasha didn't like where this was going. Everything he had heard about the undead human assassin wasn't good.

"Choices such as leaving your party?" the smile on Bankotsu's face was unnerving. Inu-Yasha's expression became one of horror as he began to realise the direction of this conversation.  

"After all…" Bankotsu continued, standing up. "A decision such as that one could be very disastrous indeed…"

"Where's Kagome?! What have you done with her?" Inu-Yasha shouted. Bankotsu smiled, seeing he was already winning. Taking up his sword he swung it in a large arch to point across from him. 

"Nothing any worse than you could do to her threeblood, trust me." He smirked. 

Inu-Yasha followed the direction of the sword to see two conveniently placed rocks bordering a pit of lava that sizzled and steamed in the rain. Hanging overtop by an unsteady thread were two girls who looked very similar. 

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha blurted, then his eyes widened as he realised. "Kikyou!" 

"I'm a nice guy threeblood." Bankotsu said, jumping over to the rock closest to where Kagome was hanging; the poor girl seemed to be curled in a tiny ball, her eyes screwed shut. "So nice, in fact, I'm going to keep going with the tradition the fuckwads seem to think will control our lives. I'm going to give you a choice."

"I'm not playing any game of yours, mortal." Inu-Yasha spat, preparing to jump. 

Bankotsu smiled. "Oh, but you are, little puppy. You see, the string that is holding these unfortunate girls up is of my own making. Kill me and it disappears, dropping them both into the fiery pit. I don't see why you won't accept my offer. I'm letting you choose once girl, Inu-Yasha. One girl to live; if you ever get to Naraku's and save all our lives that is."

Inu-Yasha lowered his sword in defeat. He knew that Bankotsu wasn't lying; the zombie had no reason to. Bankotsu would be true to his word, and Inu-Yasha could just tell that both girls were the genuine thing. 

"What about the others that were with Kagome?" He asked worriedly.

"Oh they're… around." Bankotsu shrugged.

Inu-Yasha clenched a fist with frustration. Another peal of thunder rang out, followed closely by another flash of lighting, illuminating both girls. Kagome's face was wrought with fright as she looked at Inu-Yasha, waiting for his decision. Kikyou's was sad, and already seemed decided on what Inu-Yasha's choice would be. 

Every possible through ran through his head. Every memory of Kikyou and growing up with her; every memory of Kagome and watching her grow up. Everything he had learned, he had taught, he had known he had to do. More and more thoughts of Kagome came to his head… then he suddenly realised that this was beyond his control now…

Slowly he looked up at both girls. Then his gaze shifted over to Bankotsu who, by his smile, believed he had the threeblood right where he wanted. Seeing the look in Inu-Yasha's eyes, the assassin was a bit shocked but regained his composure with a  far too warm smile. 

"So threeblood, made up your mind already? My, that was quick." He chuckled. "Alright, so which one will it be?"

"Kagome." Inu-Yasha's voice was lifeless but definite. Kagome's head jerked up as she looked at Inu-Yasha with what could only be described as the purest happiness and relief. It made Inu-Yasha's heart break.

"The Reborn? You're choosing her?" Bankotsu scratched his head and shrugged. "Well, your choice." He made as if to jump over to Kikyou's side when  Inu-Yasha spoke. 

"No." He said. He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. "What I meant," his claws were digging right through his skin, but he ignored the blood trickling down his hand, "is that," what is just him or was it getting hard to breathe… "I choose Kagome… Kagome to be the one… the one…." He took a deep breath, "the one to die…"

End Chapter 48.

To everyone: My lack of updating is due to my absent mindedness as much as lack of musiness. I'll be hit with a  great idea, lose my train of thought and then sleep for a week before waking up and realizing: Gosh darn it, I still have Guardian Angel up and my readers must either be lost, confused and alone, or dead! I should get working on it. Then proceed with reading the last eight chapters to make sure I don't miss anything and then spend sleepless nights trying to make ends meet so there are no loose strings. With only two chapters left, it's becoming increasingly hard. 

But it was a long chapter. And you like it, no?

So in order to make sure I stay in my tip-top not-forgetful shape, you are hereby ordered to email me at:

ajtabbycat @ hotmail .com

neko_ama @ hotmail .com

(without the spaces)

Or bug me at my LJ, username: nekoama.

Or hell, add me to your MSN (I just say yes blindly) and yell at me there. Use the first address. 

Fools! Although I have said that I would post the review-replies you went ahead and reviewed anyway! Now half of my replies are redundant! 

*deep breath*

Well, I'll just write half the replies for chap 48 and the other half for those who have reviewed chap 47, but not 48 yet. 

Alright!

**Chapter 48 review-replies**:

**Ghoul King** – I love your undead army, by the way. Adorable little mindless zombie fans. What everyone wants. And good golly yes I'm devoted! That's what takes me so long. You know what started this story? A whim. A whim! And now look where I am! I have plotholes like you wouldn't believe! And no telling who might pick them up (that's the problem with what used to be a weekly-updated long chaptered story) so I have to make sure I solve every single one of them. Every time I go to write a chapter, and every time I finish one, I have to read the whole entire story again. *deep breath and sigh* And I'm happy you're not the type who comes after me with fire and pointy sticks if I don't update frequently. Especially with all those zombies…

**Sweetdaeth** – Exactly what Mizuki would say. And I'm going to say right now, Kagome is not an illusion. It is both the real Kagome and the real Kikyou hanging up there, waiting to die. I really don't like something predictable like that kinda twist; I don't think it's a twist at all. Nope, it's the real Kagome… hehheheh…

**tOkU-cHaN **– Yes, yes I am evil. But don't jump to conclusions… not with this point yet. And I'm updating as soon as I can. These fingers only type at a certain speed, you know, and I'm easily distracte- *runs off after shiney thing*

**fireash** – Not the fates… me! Mwahahahahahahha! No, seriously, I had to leave it there. It was getting draggy, and this ending was perfectly evil. Ha. 

**Reverie-sama** – Why did he choose her? Well, you'll find out next chapter, won't you? And my, my, my, everyone's jumping to conclusions. How do you know Inu-Yasha's really Inu-Yasha? Hmm? Maybe it's all a Jedi mind trick! Maybe I'm really, really tired! And the wording is a bit off in Bankotsu and Kikyou's talk, but grammatically, I'm pretty sure it's right. Pretty sure. Did I use the wrong spelling? Curses *runs off to fix*

**link no miko - ***deep breath* Ama hun? I'm Ama the Hun now? YES! *storms neighbouring village* Yes, I do have terrible luck, don't I? 4:30 am? Get some sleep love. And sad Gackt songs playing? That's not good for reading this one. Thanks for pointing out my run-on sentence, I fixed that so that it (hopefully) made more sense. Kikyou's fun to write! She really is! So I had to make Bankotsu a bit less evil and a bit more calm to work out that scene, but I actually think that made him eviler, don't you? And Inu-kun's angst was actually my frustration on how to keep the chapter going, I just wrote it in. Yay for improv! And the chapter's a bit speedy because there's only two left… tie up loose ends and get things moving, you know? Sorry if it was confusing. There's always twist… I love twists… and yes, you are now added onto my MSN. Now we may talk more!

**JavaMoon** –Why thank you. I pride myself on my evilness. 

**omni-toad** – I feel much better! And my swearwords are the best! My personal favourites are cheesefucker and sacre poule (in french)

**moon-neko-princess** – ow! That slap hurt! I know I'm evil, stop flattering me. I'm sorry, I'll but San, Mir and Net (abbreviations are fun!)  in there next chap, or I'll try. And I'll also try to update as soon as I can. These kind of chapters take a lot of time. 

**Chapter 47 review-replies**

**Kagomesjewel** – Gotcher pic and loved it, thankies very much. And thank you for pointing out that mistake in the chapters, I fixed it.

**The Literary Dragon** – Only two chapters left… if the final confrontation wasn't coming, my plot would be in a hole! Yay, new reader!

**Mattielover** – My story is crazy? Oh no, do I have to send it to the nuthouse? I don't want it to go… *pets story lovingly*

**Litwolf689 **– Indeed, poor Sango.

**SimplyTurquoise **– Ya know, it's hard to write comprehensive replies when you write isty-bitsy tiny reviews! Myaga!

**youkai chick supreme** – I will write as soon as possible. And yes.

**chiblee **– Well, always glad to see a new reader in my midst! That's certainly one of the advantages of waiting a long time, more readers and more reviews! My goal is to reach 1000 by the time this is over… Glad you like the story, and you're like Netsuna? Ho boy, I pity your friends. 

**Kurokumo** – I don't have issues, man. I am in my perfect state of mind. *goes into yoga position and hums* 

*collapses* Well, now I hurt. Thank you and good night until next time (aiming for two weeks from now… remember, bug me!)

~Ama


	49. Chapter 49: Choice

Very, very, VERY Happy New Years to everyone! Unless you're Chinese! But I don't think any of you are. But just in case!

Disclaimer: One day I'll change the names of the characters and get rich off of this. Until then, they don't belong to me. So no money. :(

**Chapter 49:**

** Choice**

Bankotsu's eyebrows raised, and then his face twisted into a sadistic smile. "Well, that's a change from the… _usual_ procedures. But, if that's your choice, then take it." He grabbed the back of Kikyou's garment and lifted her up, cutting the string that held her and throwing the angel down to Inu-Yasha, who caught her half-consciously. Kikyou clung onto Inu-Yasha tightly, but he remained frigid and unresponsive. 

 Bankotsu then jumped over to the rock pillar that Kagome hung close to, kneeling besides the girl and grabbing her chin between his thumb and forefinger, looking carefully at her face. He smiled as Kagome weakly tried to pull away and Inu-Yasha began growling.

The braided bandit turned Kagome's head both ways, studying her. He looked over at Inu-Yasha, that self-righteous smirk decorating his face. "Frankly, threeblood, I think you got the worse half of the deal. This girl would be a _darling_ to take advantage of. Her facial expressions and the rest of her just seem so… flexible."

Bankotsu's jibes to get Inu-Yasha riled up seemed to work. The fist at the threeblood's side clenched and began to shake, while it was all Inu-Yasha could do to not dig his claws into Kikyou's arms. The undead angel looked at Inu-Yasha with a mixture of awe, fear and disgust. 

"Still threeblood, if that's your choice, then so be it." The assassin said, rising up. He tested the weight of his sword, playing with time. Inu-Yasha's fist shook as he clenched it tighter, ignoring the blood that flowed through his fingers and dripped onto the ground. He refused to look at Kagome, staring at the ground, growling in his throat. Bankotsu smiled at his victory. 

"Oh, don't look so ashamed, puppy dog. It was your choice, after all." He said, raising his sword. Inu-Yasha screwed his eyes shut, trying to concentrate on anything else, to not hear the terrible noise of the sword slashing through the air. Or the scream that ripped through to his very heart as the blade hit the rope. 

"_Inu-yasha!_" Kagome's voice broke just as the rope holding her above the pit did. Inu-Yasha nearly bit his tongue off as he waited for the feeling of Kagome's soul melting away…

Yet it never came. 

Kikyou wrenched free from his tight grip, shouting towards the rocks. "You! What are you doing here?! She was supposed to die! You throw her in that pit right now!" She breathed heavily in anger and frustration. "He's mine now! That… that… copy isn't supposed to live!"

He finger pointed accusingly at Kagome, lying unconscious on the rock.  Netsuna looked up from where she had placed the Reborn girl, her bright green eyes flashing with deep emotion. 

"No Kikyou. I know the past." She said firmly. Inu-Yasha watched this conversation go on with a kind of dumb fascination. 

Kikyou's eyes burned with hatred. "Yes, and in the past one dies and the soul travels to the other! There should not be two of us, and he chose me! Me! I'm the one he wants, not that freakish little creature!"

"He chose who he thought he had to… not who he wanted to." Netsuna replied. Kikyou's face turned red. 

"What do you know?" She spat. "You're just a worthless demon! I'm an angel! A Guardian! You're nothing but lowlife scum!" She turned to Inu-Yasha. "He chose me! Me! I'm the one…" Her passionate voice trailed off and failed her. 

Inu-Yasha was no longer watching either of them, but the girl on the rocks. Her breathing was quiet and erratic and she clung onto the stone like it was a lifeline. Her voice was nothing but sobs, but one word came out, incomprehensible yet his ears caught it all the same. 

"Inu-Yasha…"

In a shot the threeblood had jumped onto the rock, forgetting everything else as he picked up the shivering girl delicately, as if she would fall apart. A piece of his silver hair fell into her grasp and she clung to it tightly, whimpering. He wiped the tears from her dirt-stained cheeks, then nearly crushed her to his chest, sobbing with emotion. "I'm sorry," He whispered again and again, stroking her hair. "I'm so, so sorry…"

Netsuna turned from the spectacle to Kikyou, who was watching with her mouth half open. Feeling the catgirl's eyes on her, the undead angel turned to glare at the demon with seething hate. A stuck out tongue and a 'nyeh' were her replies. 

Shaking, Kikyou shook her head. "No." She said, beginning to walk towards the pair. "No." Her eyes narrowed as the ground literally sizzled under her feet. Inu-Yasha was still stroking Kagomes hair, soothing her, not noticing the wrathful angel walking up to him. Suddenly Kagome gave out a shiver and her temperature and opacity dropped considerably. Shocked back into the world Inu-Yasha glanced over to where a considerable amount of energy was gathered and saw Kikyou. His face flushed as he realised his predicament. 

"Kikyou! I... uh…" He consciously ran a clawed hand through his hair. "You see I…" He stopped as the undead angel ripped Kagome right out of his arms. "Kikyou! What are you doing?!"

"She's supposed to die." Kikyou said in a hiss, drawing Kagomes power right out of the mortal girl. Kagome didn't even have the strength to fight back as she grew increasingly transparent. 

Inu-Yasha stood frozen for a minute, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. Then he grabbed Kikyou's arms, trying to separate her from Kagome. Kikyou released one arm only to knock the threeblood away. Inu-Yasha stared at her as the undead angels eyes glimmered with an insane light. Inu-Yasha tried to get up but Kikyou shot some strange energy at him, knocking him back.

"This is my destiny and she's not going to take it from me!" The angel hissed. "And you're not either, threeblood!"

"Kagome!" Inu-Yasha shouted, trying to push back the energy that was holding him back. Kikyou's eyes flashed and she increased her power, causing Kagome to cry out in pain. 

"Me! You chose me!" Kikyou shouted hysterically. 

"Oh, fuck it all." A body tackled Kikyou from the side, knocking her over and releasing her grip on both Kagome and Inu-Yasha. The angel let out a cry as she and her attacker hit the hard rocks, while Inu-Yasha lay panting on the ground, the scent of charred flesh reaching him as he tentatively touched the painful circle on his chest. Then he realised something else and completely forgot his pain as he very nearly launched himself over to where his nearly vanished task lay. Not daring to pick her up, for fear he may break her, the threeblooded guardian touched her cheek gently, frightened by how cold he was. She didn't even stir when his claw grazed her cheek. 

"NO!" Kikyou's scream brought him back sharply to reality and he glanced over to see Netsuna struggling with Kikyou to keep the angel's back against a rock. "He chose me! Not her! Not that abomination! Me!"

"Oh yeah?" Netsuna grunted, grabbing Kikyou's throat and pushing her head back against the rock. "He's re-thinking a few things."

Kikyou spat in the cat demon's face and looked past her to see the threeblood approaching them. "Inu-Yasha! Save me! This… thing's trying to kill me!" She struggled a bit more, giving Netsuna a hate-filled stare. 

Inu-Yasha put a hand on Netsuna's shoulder and very nearly threw the demon away. Kikyou put a hand on her wounded throat, trying to catch her breath. "Thank you." She said, in a deceitfully sincere voice. "Now I just have to take care a few things and then we ca- ah!"

Inu-Yasha grabbed Kikyou by the throat and pushed her against the rock. "You tried to hurt Kagome. You tried to _kill _Kagome."

Kikyou's face was one of confusion before it turned sour. "Oh please," she sneered, "don't turn into one of those animals. It's either me or that Reborn mortal and you already made your decision."

Inu-Yasha almost seemed to let off but then he pushed her more forcefully against the rock. Kikyou's hands flew to the claws around her throat, trying to loosen their grip. "What are you doing?!" She managed to hiss out.

Inu-Yasha leaned in closer, his red eyes glinting dangerously. "Sorry Kikyou, it must be the demon in me. I have it in my blood, you know. And apparently," he sniffed, his expression darkening, "so do you."

Kikyou's eyes widened and then narrowed and she tried to struggle her way out of his grip, clutching onto his hands and beginning to burn them, but Inu-Yasha ignored the pain before lashing his arm out, flinging the angel near where Kagome lay transparently. A sickening crunch snapped through the air and Kikyou let out a cry as Inu-Yasha turned on her. 

"And Bankotsu!" He barked. "You reek of him and his treachery! You planned this all along!"

"He kidnapped me you fool, of course I'll have his smell on me." Kikyou said disdainfully, brushing herself off. Inu-Yasha kneeled before her, bringing his face up to hers, eyes glowing mercilessly. "Oh, really?" he said, smiling in a way that made Kikyou shiver. 

"Bankotsu fights with his sword, not his hands." Inu-Yasha said calmly. "He doesn't like touching other humans. Although, if what you said was true, the scent would be was strong on Kagome as it is on you. But Kagome barely smells of him."

Lightning snaked across the sky, splitting it as thunder crashed overhead, drowning out any reply of Kikyou. Inu-Yasha stood up and turned as if to walk away. Kikyou's anger and courage returned to her and she stood up defiantly. 

"You can't change your choices, Inu-Yasha. You chose me instead of her, and none of your pitiful whining is going to change it. She's going to die, by my hand if not by anything else."

Inu-Yasha whirled around but Kikyou had already frozen, looking at the thin rock that had grown from out of her stomach. She looked up at him, her mouth slightly agape and eyes wide, stumbling back a bit before her entire body convulsed and she began coughing horribly, blood covering her hands. Inu-Yasha's eyes widened and he was riveted to the spot as Kikyou looked at him before her eyes rolled back and she slumped to the ground. 

"Kikyou!" He screamed, running furiously to her side. He touched the rock sticking out from her, slick and black with blood. Her eyes stared past him, glazed and unseeing and the threeblood could only look at them for a second before glancing away. The stench was violent and putrid and he felt nausea overtake him. His head spun before he turned to the side and was sick on the rain washed rocks. 

"Fucking _hell_." Mizuki made a face as he turned from Inu-Yasha retching to see Kagome lying still and transparent on the rocks. "Shitfuck."

"Is it just you and Inu-Yasha, or are all demons such filthy mouthed…." Miroku's voice trailed off as he saw where the kappa was looking. "_Fuck_."

"Kagome!" Sango, riding Kirrara, raced over to the pale girl's side, slipping off of her feline angel to put a hand on Kagome's forehead. The girl was frighteningly cold, causing Sango to pull back her hand in shock. Miroku turned to Kuro-michi, who seemed to be regarding things with a cool anger. 

"What's happening?" The young monk said quietly. The trespasser didn't answer him, instead giving him a glance before gliding over to behind a rock. 

"Uh…" Mizuki scratched the back of his head, muttering. "So how screwed are we?" 

Inu-Yasha wiped his mouth, disgusted with himself for his weakness. He looked back over at Kikyou, who was nearly transparent and gone. He touched her stone cold cheek and was shocked when she moved, turning her head ever so slightly  to look at him. 

"Kikyou," He said softly. "Kikyou, I'm sorry. I know this isn't how it's supposed to turn out. I know this isn't the way things went and should go, but that just… well I… I…" He swallowed nervously with an extremely dry throat.  "I'm sorry."

"muh…" Kikyou's mouth moved and a barely audible noise was breathed out. Inu-Yasha's torn and tattered ears flickered trying to catch what she was saying. 

"Kikyou?" He said quietly, as if speaking loudly would break her. 

"M… mu…. me…." Kikyou said softly, and an odd light appeared in her dimmed eyes as she stared right through Inu-Yasha. "Me…"

The light in her eyes flickered and died and her form stiffened before slowly dissolving into dust. The stone that had pierced her middle clattered to the ground, once again free of blood. When the initial shock passed over another wave of nausea hit the threeblood, who put a hand over his mouth and coughed to keep the illness down. A strand of hair was tugged and he looked down to see Shippo standing beside him, holding a glass of white milk in his hands, looking up at him with concern. 

"Milk always cures a sore stomach." The young angel said helpfully. Inu-Yasha took the glass and chugged it gratefully. Although the liquid didn't help much, it eased his nerves enough. He handed the glass back to Shippo, who vanished it, and was about to ask a question when Sango interrupted him. 

"Kagome-chan! Are you feeling alright?" She said in a tense voice. 

Kagome had sat up suddenly, nearly hitting Sango's head with her own. She sat there rigidly for a moment as the afterlife slowly leaked back into her. Her memories came flooding back with her energy and the very first and last thing she could remember was hanging above that pit of horrid lava, while Inu-Yasha had just chosen Kikyou over her and condemned her to a second death. Without even looking at her surroundings Kagome curled up into a ball and began to cry, wracking sobs that shook her tormented body. Shocked, as not having been a witness to the recent events, putting an arm around Kagome and trying to comfort her was all Sango could do.

Inu-Yasha frozen when he heard Kagome awake but when she began to cry he managed to thaw enough to look behind his shoulder at the sobbing spirit. He visibly slumped, completely humiliated and angry at himself. Fear and embarrassment turned to anger as he turned away from Kagome and from Shippo, going to sulk atop a rock. 

An eyebrow raised, Miroku surveyed the area, where Kikyou had lain, the sobbing Kagome and the sulking threeblood, tapping his thumb on his staff. "Just what happened here?" He wondered aloud. Sango shook her head helplessly as a reply, still trying to soothe Kagome's sobs. 

"It's a bit complicated," Netsuna said from behind the monk, sitting a rock beside where Mizuki stood and looking utterly bedraggled. "Like one of those television series where if you miss an episode you can kiss the plot goodbye."

"Then you'd best explain it to us." Sango said quietly. Netsuna caught the underlying tone and nodded wearily. 

"This human zombie that Naraku had resurrected, named Bankotsu, made a deal with Kikyou to kidnap Kagome and force Inu-Yasha to do something he wouldn't want to. When Inu-Yasha arrived Bankotsu played as though he had captured both Kikyou and Kagome and was threatening their lives and telling Inu-Yasha to choose only one of them to live. 

"He chose Kikyou."

A well placed flash of lightning and peal of thunder accented the demons point. Far over on his rock Inu-Yasha seemed fairly interested in his toenails; Sango shot him a glare and Mizuki whistled. Miroku and Shippo just shook their heads as Netsuna continued. 

"So Bankotsu frees Kikyou and makes to kill Kagome, but I'm not one to sit around and watch stupid people make stupid choices. So I saved Kagome and gave Bankotsu a bit of a mud bath." She nodded towards the bubbling pit of lava. "Kikyou started freaking out and tried to kill Kagome and Inu-Yasha, then Inu-Yasha got mad and tried to kill _her _and then I started to get tired of the argument and put a rock through Kikyou."

"And where were we through all this?" Mizuki asked lazily. 

"Out of the way. As we _should_ have been." Kuro-Michi said, having appeared again and was giving the most solid of stares towards his sister. Netsuna returned his unwavering gaze. 

"So Kikyou's dead." Miroku said, ignoring the sibling spat. 

"So it would appear. Pity, the undead psychotic angel was really my last hope." 

Everything stood stock still as the air temperature dropped about five degrees and everyone turned to the source of the voice. Even Inu-Yasha stopped studying his feet and turned to see the young, handsome man standing there in his dark clothing, giving a polite bow as he smiled coldly at them, the rain avoiding every part of his body, every strand of his hair. Kagome stopped crying and looked up to see the very incarnation of evil before them. 

"So you're finally here, N-" 

"_Naraku_." Miroku was cut off as Inu-Yasha stood up, wet, angry and defying. His golden eyes flashed with hatred as he stared at the coolly smiling demon before them. 

"Ah, Inu-Yasha the legendary threeblood, son of Inu-Yasha the legendary hanyou, descendant of some demon from long ago who's named was too unimportant for me to care." Naraku inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Although I'm sure it was something trivial, such as Inu-Yasha."

A thunderpeal drowned out Inu-Yasha's reply. 

The demon surveyed the scene in front of him, the serene uncaring look having not left his face. "As ragtag as before. How pitiful. Still, I must commened you for getting here. Still," He added, his gaze falling on the trespassers, "it's not for lack of aid."

"Cut the crap Naraku. We have something to finish." Inu-Yasha growled harshly.

"We do, don't we?" Naraku said driftingly, as if he were remembering a dinner date with a particularly boring guest. The insult only further aggravated Inu-Yasha, who's clenching hand found the hilt of his sword, which he gripped defensively. Naraku noticed this and raised a delicate eyebrow. 

"Ah yes, the fabled sword of blood. I supposed you'll be using that against me?"

"Fuckin' straight."

"Language, you're giving demons a bad name." Naraku said absently, reaching for something attached to his belt. "And if you're to fight me and except to win, you'd might like these as well. Perhaps a sword of healing and a sword forged from the very soul of Hell will help you defeat me." With an expert and careless toss of his hand, he threw two slight katana's in Inu-Yasha's direction.

The threeblood picked up the two swords warily, before recognising them. His eyes widened and then turned to look at Naraku, in a touch of shock. 

The demon shrugged. "He chose to interfere, and no matter his strength the show must go on and the show should go on. He wasn't an actor."

"Keh." Inu-Yasha snorted, quickly regaining his composure. "I'm not my uncle." He placed the two swords Tenseiga and Toukijin at his side. "Now let's get this over with."

Naraku's smile turned sinister. "Of course. Follow me." He coolly walked through the scattered group and past the glowering Inu-Yasha to enter a small crack in the hill of the mountainside. Inu-Yasha glanced at the group and began following. Miroku and Shippo glanced at each other and began to move forwards when Naraku stopped. 

"I'm sorry." He said politely. "Invitation only. It's just the threeblood and me that fight."

Miroku was about to protest when he caught Inu-Yasha's look. The monk closed his mouth and nodded, although his eyes clearly stated that he didn't like the idea. Inu-Yasha surveyed the small ragtag group of demons, mortals and angels. His gaze passed over to Kagome and their eyes met. 

Kagome stared unblinkingly into her guradian's eyes, which softened and seem the same amber colour that they once were when they first met. Memories of their brief time together seemed connected to those eyes, which were devoid of any smile and filled with only sadness. Inu-Yasha broke the eye contact to look up at Sango.

"Take care of her." He said quietly, before turning to follow Naraku into the deep crack in the stone. When his silhouette vanished into the darkness the ground shook and the small opening closed behind him, leaving the threeblood and the outcast inside the belly of the dead volcano, and the small resistance outside. 

"Now we wait." Mizuki said quietly in the storm-drenched atmosphere. "Now we wait."

End Chapter 49

I would just like to take this moment to tell every single one of you how much I love you.

Writing this story was a bit of a hobby when it started out. I can honestly tell you that I never expected it to be this big. I never even imagined more than 40 reviews past the fourth chapter, which was where I expected it would die off. Now it's turned into this epic. 

The first two books I just wrote on a bit of a whim, a plot but no real plot truly thought out. But with the third book I had to plan everything out; there's nothing I hate more then loose ends in story. And tragedy/angst is a btich to write. A royal bitch. 

So I'm happy that you've all remained faithful to me. I'm very, very glad. If I were a reader of this story, I'd have plum given up by now and gone to eat little piggies or something. But you guys stick through me thick and thin and every three days I'm getting a message from a new reader saying how much he/she absolutely adores this fic. 

And even though my schedule has kind of deteriorated, there's only one chapter left. I can promise you it's going to be a hell of a chapter, probably twice the length of the average chapter, if I can manage. Not to mention the biggest thank you note ever. And I'm gong to promise you that I'll update before the end of January. 

So bear with me for just one more chapter. Then this epic will be over. This is the first thing I've ever been really, really serious on. I might write a sequel (although unlikely unless you guys can suggest something) or I might actually start drawing that doujinshi I started so long ago. 

Either way thank you. Thank you all so very, very much.

Let's finish this.

~Ama


	50. Chapter 50: Finale

_Holy shit on a stick._

It's been nearly a year since I updated this thing. And you know what. I've worked on it at least twice a month this entire time. The stupid ending just wouldn't finish. I've probably writing it a bajillion times now. This is the one I'm most satisfied with. I'm afraid it doesn't end very well but…, well, you'll see.

Enjoy your spectacularly LONG last chapter of _Guardian Angel_!

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**Chapter 50: Finale.**

The storm blew heavily in the barren clearing, where all life had been burned away by the tremendous fights that had taken place there. The two tallest objects were the only living beings, facing each other as the wind and rain blew around them. Smoke from the previous fires smouldered and fogged the windswept area, yet the two beings seemed unaffected.

"So this is it, eh Naraku?" The shorter one raised a bloody arm to sweep the view of the clearing. "This is what we've come to! Two fucking years of fighting and it's just down to us. Is this what you wanted?!" A thunderclap pealed loudly through the area, a thin stroke of lightning silhouetting the wild-haired demon.

The taller, more slender of the pair surveyed the destroyed area coolly, giving off a casual shrug. "I somehow expected it to be less destroyed. Really Inu-Yasha, you ruined half my fun."

"Fun?! You're telling me this was all for fun?!" The shorter demon snarled. The taller smiled as if speaking to a young child who did not understand.

"Well, you didn't think I was getting paid for this, did you?"

The wild-haired demon spat into the wind, grimacing. "You've been leading us on for two years. You disappear and suddenly appear again and just when we start to defeat you, you decide to take the whole three fucking planes with you, because you're _bored?_!"

"Oh no, there is a master plan, you can be sure of that." Came the complacent reply.

Inu-Yasha's grip tightened on the hilt of the sword he held. "Well, we're at the end of the fight. Care to tell me the plan before one or both of us dies, you scheming bitch?"

Naraku's smile didn't even flicker at the insult. "If that's what you really want. And if you want to be happy, then I'll tell you right now that you're probably going to win. You'll kill me and everything will go back to normal." He swept his arms magnificently, looking for all the world like a speaker at a grand ceremony, rather then a demon at the end of space and time he brought about. Just as his hands came to rest in front of him, he paused. "Well, almost back to normal. No one's going to come back to life, are they?"

The look Inu-Yasha gave him was pure murder. Then one eyebrow raised and he sneered towards Naraku. "You seem mighty confident that it's me who's gonna be winning. This isn't some kinda trick, is it?"

"No." Naraku said calmly, the tips of his fingers touching delicately in front of him, as he stood across the burned out clearing like a priest on the eve of Doomsday. "No, you are probably going to win."

Inu-Yasha snorted. "Fuckin' right I'm gonna win. Then I won't have to deal with you ever again."

The smile Naraku returned was cold and bitter. "You don't follow history very well, do you half-breed? Oh, sorry, you're a threeblood now, thanks to your dear wife's contribution. Lovely, lovely angel, don't you think? Although her forehead wrinkled something awful when she was angry…"

"Would you quit the insults and get to the point?!" The threeblood growled through his teeth. "One minute you're telling me I'm gonna win, the next you're tellin' me I should know my history and you're actin' cocky all through it!"

"I would have expected one as barbaric as you to be superstitious Inu-Yasha." Naraku said, with a hint of amusement and exasperation. "So, pop-quiz! What's the most important number when it comes to space, time, the existences and the very fabric of everything?"

"Three." Inu-Yasha snorted. "Everyone who has half a brain knows that. Why?"

"Ah, that's where the history comes in, Inu-Yasha. Long, long, long, long, long ago, this very same fight happened."

The threeblood sniffed, but otherwise had no reaction. "So? The bad guy died then too."

Naraku smiled unpleasantly. "Three, Inu-Yasha. The First Strike happened long ago, separating the single plane into the three we have today. This," He gestured around him, "would be the Second Strike. I'm not quite sure what I've accomplished, but I'll probably find out by the time I'm reincarnated. Naturally, there's going to be a Third Strike, if we go by every superstitious connotation."

"And your point is?"

"My point is, my barbaric little opponent, that if you don't succeed in killing me, it destroys the balance and I destroy existence. If you do kill me, I'm just going to come back and since it'll be the last time around I'm guaranteed to win and existence is destroyed anyway. You really should just give up now, as you're just delaying the inevitable."

"Keh." The threeblood spat to the side, glaring at his opponent. "Even a few thousand year from now, my reincarnation's still gonna kill you!"

Naraku smiled wider. "Oh, don't even hold your breath to wait that long. Your most exact replica will be the one fighting my reincarnation. And you have a son whom after yourself you named, correct?"

The elder Inu-Yasha's nose wrinkled as the realisation dawned on him and, surprising even Naraku, he laughed.

"That just cliches it, pretty boy!" The threeblood shouted. "My own flesh and blood! And he's pure threeblood, so he's going to be even stronger then his father. He's gonna kick yer ass for sure!"

"We'll see." Was Naraku's composed reply. "Now we have a fight to complete, do we not?"

Inu-Yasha lifted a large, blood-coloured sword onto his shoulder and got into a fighting stance. "Aye, we do. So let's get this over with, eh?"

Naraku smiled villainously. "Of course."

Lightning forked through the air, followed almost immediately by a thunderous roar that reverberated through the entire rocky and watery plane. A small, bedraggled group was huddled underneath a large outcrop of rocks, which, along with a few well place spells, were protecting them from the harsh and bitter rain, which was beginning to come down so hard it was bruising.

Shippo had lit a small, fuel-less fire to keep them warm and was now curled up beside it, along with Kirrara, clutching his bushy tail close to keep warm. Miroku sat nearby, watching as the blue and green flames danced in their small circle, giving off flickering shadows everywhere. Whenever the lighting bolts flashed outside, which was getting more and more frequent, the angels would twitch slightly in their sleep. When Shippo began to stir as if waking up, Miroku put a silent and gentle hand on his head, settling the young fox back into sleep. The latest time this happened Miroku let out a slight sigh, rubbing his guardian's bushy red hair. Shippo may be an ethereal being but he was still a kid; no kid should have to live through what he was living right now.

Something stirred against him and Miroku glanced down at the sleeping Sango. Ah, the irrepressible Sango, sleeping like an angel, curled up against his body for warmth. He smiled slightly, but sadly, as she clutched onto his arm and snuggled up closer to his bare chest in her tormented dreams. Miroku knew she was probably going to be forever scarred from the doppelganger that had impersonated her brother, nearly killed her and then was killed by Inu-Yasha. He stroked her hair softly and while her body remained tense her expression relaxed and Miroku couldn't help placing a small kiss on her forehead. She was all the more angelic when she was sleeping because she couldn't slap him at all.

Miroku glanced up at where Kagome was sitting, as close to the edge of the shield spell as she could, staring into the darkness of the volcano where Inu-Yasha had vanished. She hadn't said a word since he had gone into that mountain to fight a battle he probably wouldn't survive. When they led her here she had seated herself by the entrance and watched the volcano with dry eyes and a solemn expression. In fact, Miroku was sure she hadn't moved at all, and the bright forks of lightning and deafening thunder did nothing to even shake her.

"One hour." Miroku glanced over at Mizuki, who was lying against a rock with his arms crossed and eyes closed. The kappa demon opened one eye a slit and focused it on the mortal, speaking low again. "The threeblood's been gone for one hour. That's how long the broad's been sittin' there."

Miroku glanced back over at Kagome before looking back at Mizuki. "You demons are more learned in the Strike lore than mortals. How long do you expect him to be in there?"

Mizuki had closed his eyes again, with all the semblance of sleep but the movement under his eyebrows was indication that he was instead thinking. He opened his mouth to reply, but it was a different voice that interrupted him.

"Until the end, if things are to go properly." Kuro-michi's dark voice came from the shadows. A fork of lightning flashed, illuminating his features for a moment, until the trespasser elaborated on his answer. "It is to be expected that the threeblood should and will not return."

"Why is that?" Miroku asked, shifting his weight to be a little more comfortable, and trying to accommodate Sango. Kuro-michi turned his piercing, soulless red eyes on the mortal for a moment, then shifted back to watch the Reborn girl.

"Because it is the end. It is truly that simple. Whether the threeblood lives or dies is irrelevant; he will lose none the less."

"Why?" Miroku kept his voice quiet, but the hinting of anger was still there. He glanced sideways to see if Kagome was listening; no doubt she was so close to the edge any mention of a certain doggy-eared fellow's death would send her running into that volcano.

Kuro-michi's gaze found it's way back to Miroku. "You're as knowledgeable with the rule of thirds as anyone in this hole. Despite the threeblood's denial, this is indeed the Third Strike."

"So there's nothing we can do? It's the end of the world as we know it?" Miroku partly hissed. He refused to believe they went through all this for nothing.

"And I feel fine…" Mizuki murmured dozily, staring at the ceiling and chewing on an non-lit cigarette. Miroku gave him a slight glare and then sighed. "Then why are we here?" He asked the shadowy demon.

"Because," Kuro-michi glanced back at Kagome, "You're supposed to be."

"I seem to fail to understand." Miroku said as politely and sharply as possible.

Kuro-michi fell silent and only watched the silent girl by the edge of the stone covering, who in turn watched the rain falling down in a harsh and steady beat.

"You know the rule of thirds, don't you?" It was Netsuna who indirectly answered Miroku's question. "Beginning, middle, end? Well, this is the third; this is the end."

"Then why go through all this? Why put us all through this when we're just going to lose anyway?" Miroku's hand unconsciously gripped Sango and he glanced down at the two angels sleeping by the fire.

"Why?" Netsuna stretched from her position beside her brother, flickering her tail with a bit of amusement. "Why live when you will only die? Why should the sun rise, if it is only to set again? There's no point, Miroku, do a lot of things if you look at the big picture. But the details count too, and that's what we are. Details in the big painting that's the circle of life."

"That's quite the profound thing to say." Miroku replied, glancing over at Kagome. "All this just so the balance can be kept in order? All the suffering just for a bit of control?"

"Well, it's pretty fucked up anyway! I mean, you guys are still alive." Netsuna said gleefully. "So's Kagome. Really, the whole order's messed up anyway."

"And who's fault would that be, sister?" Kuro-michi turned his gaze to the catgirl beside him.

"You, actually." She said smugly.

"There's more to this then I'm being told, isn't there?" Miroku said, glancing between the two different trespassers.

"It's a bit complicated." Netsuna said, looking nervous. "And if I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"I'm dying anyway." Miroku said flatly.

"Oh yeah!" The catgirl realised. "Well, then I guess it's okay. You can handle a bit of mind ogy-bogy, right?"

"Mind ogy-bogy?" Miroku repeated.

"She likes to make up words as she goes along." Mizuki said flatly, his eyes closed. Netsuna stuck her tongue out at him.

"You ready?" She asked Miroku. The mortal nodded. "Alright then, here goes…"

Inu-Yasha fiercely shook the rain out of his sopping hair, in a futile attempt to keep it out of his eyes. One would have thought that inside a volcano the rain wouldn't pour, but since the laws of reality were shifting anyway, it didn't seem to matter. A fork of lightning crashed near him, nearly blinding him and a peal of thunder followed split seconds afterwards, nearly deafening him. After he nearly cleaved his own head off with Tetsusaiga trying to cover his ears, he looked up to see Naraku calmly watching him, that ever smug smile resting upon his face.

"Somethin' funny?" The threeblood growled.

"Oh, nothing really." Naraku shrugged. "Just feeling a bit nostalgic. I recall this very same showdown with your father, a bit over 200 years ago."

"Oh yeah, fuckin' fantastic." Inu-Yasha muttered, swinging his large blade to rest on his shoulder. "It makes me all mushy inside. I came here to fight, not to talk about my dad!"

"Of course." Naraku bowed slightly. "I just thought that you'd like to hear a bit of history before your d– "

Inu-Yasha's blade dug deep into the ground Naraku had been standing on, as the threeblood flipped over it from the force of his swing, holding loosely onto the sword handle to guide his landing. He used the force of his landing to completely whip his shoulders forward and pull the blade out of the dirt. He turned around to see Naraku standing on a stone, brushing off his cloak where the blood-stained blade had nearly hit him.

"I told you," Inu-Yasha swung his sword heavily onto his shoulders and crouched to leap at his opponent. "I'm not here for a fuckin' tea party!" With that last incoherent snarl he leaped towards Naraku, twisting his body to accommodate for Tetsusaiga's weight. Naraku, not caught by surprise this time, easily avoided the clumsy swing and watched as the blood blade dug into the rock and Inu-Yasha had to use force to pull it out.

"You're only killing yourself." The demon critiqued. "That sword is far too heavy for you and you don't know how to use it."

"Shut up!" The threeblood snarled, trying to balance the sword on one arm. "I'll fight you with Tetsusaiga and I'll win!"

"Of course." Naraku said sardonically. Then his eyes narrowed and he smiled. "If that's the way you want it."

He gave a short bow and, before Inu-Yasha could attack, spread his arms out. The threeblood sniffed warily and squinted as Naraku's arms seem to grow longer. As Inu-Yasha watched in slight horror, Naraku's arms stretched out and branched, soon turning into long, brown tentacles, each arm nearly three times the length of the body and with about twenty thick tentacles each.

Inu-Yasha flattened his ears and snorted. "Great. Fight hundreds of demons and the final boss is a fucking tentacle monster. If this is anything like one of Shippo's video games, that kid's sick."

"Shall we begin?" Naraku smiled disdainfully and whipped at the rock Inu-Yasha was standing on before the threeblood could reply. Inu-Yasha rolled forward off the shattered stone and pushed himself up with his sword, only to have to move out of the way of another whipping tentacle.

"Fuck." Inu-Yasha swore as a stone shard cut through his leg. "He's too fast."

Naraku smiled. "I told you, didn't I? Now just be a good little threeblood and sit right where I can hit you!" His tentacles lashed out and Inu-Yasha barely avoided them by rolling.

"Fuckin hell!" The threeblood snarled, holding the sword above his head and taking a running leap at Naraku. "If I'm dying I'm taking you with me!"

"There are three of you?" Miroku asked, before glancing at Mizuki.

Netsuna shook her head. "No, there were. My brothers and I are here for the Strikes. We're…" She made some hand motions as she tried to place the word. "Balance keepers… sorta."

"Then how come there's only two of you?" The mortal asked, looking between them. To his surprise, Kuro-michi looked away when their eyes met.

"His fault." Netsuna said bluntly, jabbing a thumb towards her brother.

"Sister!" The other trespasser hissed at her words, but the cat just looked at him.

"Bro, it is. Face it." She twitched her nose as she glared unblinkingly at her brother, who turned his head away.

"What did he do?" Miroku asked, somehow getting more confused the more information he got.

"Saved my life." Netsuna shrugged, going once again straight to the point. "I'm supposed to be dead but my little brother flaked and saved me at the last minute."

Now Mizuki was sitting up and looking at Kuro-Michi, who was uncharacteristically staring at his nails. Netsuna elbowed him and he shot a glare at her, as if angry that she had blabbed a huge secret.

"You're supposed to be dead?" Miroku asked, hoping he could get as many answers as possible before a mini feud broke out.

Netsuna nodded. "One of us per Strike. We have a certain set of tasks to set out, and the very last one, obviously, is dying."

"What are the tasks?"

"Can't tell ya." The catgirl smiled. "But it doesn't really matter anyway."

"So you're supposed to be dead but you ain't because Broody 'ere did something nice?" Mizuki asked, earning a glare from Kuro-Michi.

"That's why he's so uptight." Netsuna smiled. "He's been trying to get this Strike perfect by keeping me out of trouble. But it didn't really work. I've seen the Second Strike, Hells, I helped create it. I didn't want to see that again. That's why I pushed everything faster, that's why I was working for Sesshoumaru, that's why I saved Kagome's life."

"And Blackie's been trying to stop you all along, eh?" Mizuki smirked.

Netsuna matched his grin. "Actually, he thought we were working together to make this Strike work."

Kuro-Michi snorted and looked away.

"So…" Miroku thought aloud, "if you've been trying so hard to stop the Third Strike, how come you're sitting here?"

Netsuna's smiled faded. "You know relativity, or whatever you guys call it? For every equal there's an opposite, balance, blah, blah, blah?"

Miroku and Mizuki nodded.

Netsuna looked to the entrance of their shelter, past Kagome to the sheet of rain, thunder and lightning. "All existences depend on a certain balance. Naraku and Inu-Yasha are the two that keep it that way. Any interference would result in chaos and destruction; exactly was Naraku wants.

"In the beginning, there was only one existence. One plane. There weren't mortals, demons or angels. Instead, there was only one group, all living together. Then came Naraku, and he began messing things up. By the time he was finished and the first Inu-Yasha, I think his name was actually Iikotoro, had defeated him, the existences were in total chaos. There were three, but they were so close to each other they overlapped, and you had things like people just disappearing in mid air because they stepped into a different plane. The confusion also changed how the people were starting to evolve, and they changed to live with the planes they chose to live on.

"Then came the Second Strike. It lasted two whole years, and resulted in a cataclysmic event that mashed together and separated the planes at the same times, putting them on different… levels would be the easiest word. Before then, angels, demons and mortals were different, but the same, changed by the environment they preferred, but all generally living together. After the Second Strike, angels and demons couldn't reach the mortals, until they discovered that after death, the mortal soul transferred back a degree, making it appear in the planes of the other two existences."

"So what happens after the Third Strike?" Miroku asked.

Netsuna shrugged.

"The First Strike created the planes. The Second Strike separated the planes. It is only natural for the Third Strike to destroy them."

"But what would happen after that?" Miroku asked, eyebrow raised. As much as he hated all of this seemingly pointless destruction, he was still intrigued by all of it.

Netsuna gave a loose shrug. "I dunno. A new existence is created again?"

"So what 'bout me Net? I got any special part in this?" Mizuki asked, somewhat excitedly. Netsuna 'hmm'ed and looked him over.

"Nope. You're a reject we just picked up along the way." Mizuki pouted and slumped back, and went back to chewing his cigarette and counting cracks in the ceiling.

"Still…" Miroku sat back and sighed, looking at the sleeping Sango, Shippo and Kirrara. "I wish there was another way."

Netsuna smiled knowingly. "Oh, don't worry. Remember, things are a bit screwed up around here. We have something the past two Strikes didn't."

Miroku looked quizzically at her. "What's that."

Netsuna's smile only broadened as she pointed to the entrance of the cave. Miroku followed her finger to the end of the barrier, where the rain was thudding heavily on and a bit of water had splashed in an empty spot that had previously been filled.

Kagome was gone.

Inu-Yasha slammed into the wall of stone, falling to the waterlogged ground with stone pieces clattering around him. He groaned and tried to push himself up with one arm, straining himself as red rivers of rainwater and blood streamed onto the ground. As his chest heaved to breathe in the foul air it hitched in his throat and he began to cough violently, as his broken ribs flash with pain. The coughing grew so violent and the pain so intense he began to vomit, heaving in the thunder, the lightning and the constant downpour, heaving until he was vomiting nothing but blood and water and when he was done his whole body was shaking. He fell back against the stone and breathed raggedly and painfully. He was practically deaf from the thunder and rain, nearly blind from the constant lightning and the smell of his sickness was making him ill again, while his sense of touch was sending non-stop excruciating pain through his body. His heightened senses weren't helping him in the battle at all; they were killing him.

Naraku stepped delicately through the ankle-deep water, coming before Inu-Yasha to watch the threeblood gasp for breath in the waterlogged air. He leaned forward and spoke coolly, looking no worse for wear.

"Dead yet?" He asked. Inu-Yasha opened his only useful eye, as the other was caked in blood, and glared at Naraku through a blooded slit.

"N… not… yet…" Inu-Yasha growled softly through deep breathes. "I still… still got sa… some fight in me… Naraku…."

Naraku smiled almost sadly. "I'm a bit disappointed Inu-Yasha. I thought you'd be stronger than this, but it seems that I was mistaken. After becoming a threeblood you were supposed to be at least as strong as me and but it seems…" Naraku suddenly trailed off and stiffened. He let out a hissing noise and straightened up, looking over his shoulder. "The girl is still alive…"

Inu-Yasha made a rasping noise as blood was beginning to trickle into his lungs. Naraku gave him a sidelong glance. "You're barely alive, and not worth my time. Since that girl was kept living…" He trailed off, and then turned.

"Ka…" Inu-Yasha groaned. "Kagome… you're talking… about Ka... gome, aren't you?" Naraku paused and turned, a slight smile on his face.

"And if I was?"

"Then…" Inu-Yasha's chest convulsed and he hacked for a minute, spitting up a sticky globule of blood, which he spat out. "I'll have… to… to kill y-you…"

Naraku smiled. "You're not even in the state to kill that little fox angel, much less myself, Inu-Yasha. I have… bigger fish to fry, so to speak."

Inu-Yasha let out an undistinguishable snarl, as he pushed against the stone wall to try and push himself up. He could just barely feel Naraku's presence and was relying on the demon not moving to get his direction. He was standing on shaky legs now, aware fully of Naraku's interested gaze on him, his claws digging to the rock face behind him as he prepared to fling himself forward.

He pushed his body as forcefully as he could and raised his clawed hand to strike Naraku down when a blinding flash of lightning and deafening clap of thunder rang out at the same time. Inu-Yasha screwed his eye shut and slammed his hands over his ears, falling into fetal position on the ground as he screamed in pain.

Naraku smiled coldly. "No matter what the energy you have, Inu-Yasha, the very existences you are fighting for are no longer on your side. You are defeated, and in a moment everything will finally be mine."

Inu-Yasha made no reaction as though he had heard him. Naraku smiled and reached down, grabbing a fistful of hair and pulling the threeblood's head up sharply to meet his gaze.

"Do you want me to put your out of your misery, boy?" He asked sneeringly.

"Fuck… you…" Inu-Yasha growled through gritted teeth. Naraku frowned and grabbed Inu-Yasha's shoulder, preparing to snap the dog-boy's neck.

Suddenly his nails dug into Inu-Yasha's skin before letting go completely, and Naraku stepped back before whirling around with a feral hiss, catching the arrow as it made it's flight towards his head. As Inu-Yasha watched, a tentacle grew out of Naraku's shoulder and snaked down his back, where it removed the first arrow protruding from there and tossed it away carelessly.

Naraku snapped the arrow he was holding in half, glaring into the inky blackness, trying to see the archer.

Another arrow shot through the darkness, glowing a pale pink and leaving a disappearing trail behind it. Naraku easily avoided it and watched it silently as it hit the water and the light died down. His gaze, very slowly, turned back to where the arrow had come from, flickering to meet Inu-Yasha's gaze for a brief second, before he began moving forward. Fear grabbed at Inu-Yasha and the threeblood pratically shoved his elbows into the rock, trying to gain leverage.

The darkness parted for another glowing arrow, but this time a tentacle rose from Naraku's back and flicked it aside. The arrow sparked before falling uselessly into the flood. Naraku smiled as he began to move slowly, enjoying this. "This is going to be even easier than the last two times combined; at least your mother wasn't stupid like this. And she didn't even give me the joy of a scream. I suspect this Reborn will scream rather loudly…"

Inu-Yasha's face contorted to a snarl and he dug his nails into the stony rock. If he missed this shot, it was all over. Bracing his shattered body against the wall, he brought his right arm forward and clenched his claws. Do or die, the time was now…

With a roar Inu-Yasha launched himself at Naraku with every last ounce of his strength, and probably his life energy. The demon turned abruptly to see the threeblood flying towards him, claws extended to their fullest, when suddenly the sharp pink line of light hit the attacker in the side. Inu-Yasha's cry transformed into a snarl of right out anguish, getting cut off by his body hitting the water with a splash. The arrow's bright pink glow faded and began pulsating, turning a dark red before fading out completely.

It was everything Naraku could do to not laugh, for he could here footsteps in the way.

"Inu-Yasha?" The voice was timid, frightened, but still clear and unwavering. "Inu-Yasha?! Are you okay? I think I got him... Inu-Yasha?"

"Kagome!" Kagome squinted to see her wild-haired angel stumbled towards her, holding his side painfully. "Kagome, you stupid bitch, what are you doing? It's dangerous! Get out of here!"

"No!" Kagome clutched her bow tightly to her chest. "I heard them talking! They acted like I couldn't hear but I did! You're going to die!"

Inu-Yasha grinned lopsidedly. "Like hell. You just wasted Naraku!"

Kagome's expression changed to a curious one. "Really?"

Inu-Yasha flickered a tatter ear, still grinning. "Ya. Didn't you notice?"

Kagome glanced off into the darkness, her expression now distant. "It just seems weird.. Since I wasn't aiming for him…"

Inu-Yasha blinked in confusion for a second, when his expression changed and he looked down to see an arrow pointed at his chest, the tip just touching the skin and hissing as it burned. He jerked his head up to look Kagome in the eyes, hissing. "What the fuck's wrong with you bitch? Why are you aiming at me?!"

Kagome only narrowed her eyes and drew the bowstring back as taunt as it would go.

Inu-Yasha growled and clenched his claws. "Don't make me be the bad guy here…"

"Funny, that's kind of what you were making yourself out to be."

Inu-Yasha whipped around to stare at himself, only this form was a bit more bloodied and battered. The second Inu-Yasha smirked, before balling his hand into a fist and punching the first right into a wall.

Naraku snarled much like the threeblood he was imitating as his skull hit the stone. As he tried to get up, a blur was upon him, clawed fingers got a tight grip around his neck and he was slammed into the stone wall once again.

"I win." Inu-Yasha growled pleasantly, digging his claws into Naraku's neck. "Pretending to be me? That's the oldest trick in the book. You forgot that Kagome can detect life forces."

Naraku frowned and then smiled, looking down at Inu-Yasha in amusement before he started laughing. The hollow, cold laughter echoed into the pouring rain, the empty cavern, the monotonous thunder and lightning that had merely become a backdrop for Inu-Yasha's determination. Kagome stepped forward a bit, her arrow still aimed at Naraku's heart, although her hands were obviously shaking.

"Stop it!" Inu-Yasha slammed Naraku's head against the wall. "Stop it!"

"Go ahead, kill me." Naraku hissed, his eyes still alight with evil amusement. "It's of no point now. I've already won. I was made for this role and there's nothing you can do to stop it now."

Inu-Yasha's chest rumbled as he growled. "Oh really?" Squeezing his grip as hard as he could, he brought his leg up and slammed it against Narkau's chest, balancing by pressing all his weight on the demon. "My mom, my dad, my stupid uncle, Sango's brother, that damn wolf, Kikyou, even that little brat Momiji; they all died because of your sick games. You've caused enough fucking problems and you're going to at least make them worthwhile."

With one calm movement, he dug his foot into Naraku's chest while ripping his arm upwards, quickly and messily tearing Naraku's head from his body with a sickening sound.

Inu-Yasha removed his foot from the body, letting it fall into the water with a muted splash. He looked dully at the head in his hand, sniffing at the blood that was overpowering the air, and then disgustedly threw it as far into the darkness as he could. His chest heaved as he tried to breathe in the thick mist; after all that exuberant movement, he was exhausted and all the wounds he had received in the battle were aching and demanding attention again. He slumped wearily into the knee-deep water, leaning his head against the wet rock and tried to obtain enough oxygen with each breath without stretching his shattered ribs too much.

"Inu-Yasha!" He squinted open his good eye to see Kagome run to his side and immediately begin to fuss over him. "How are you still alive like this?"

"I'm fuckin' unstoppable, that's why." He managed, wincing. Everything hurt a lot more now that he was paying attention to his wounds. Kagome ran a hand over his forehead, trying to wipe away the blood before turning her attention to the wounds on his chest. She conjured a cloth to try and soak up the blood, but the ongoing rainstorm wasn't helping, only serving to wash away his blood faster than it could coagulate.

"Oh, just stop trying." Inu-Yasha said, moving uncomfortably away from her, trying to keep the pain out of his voice. "They're not that bad."

"Not that bad!" Kagome put her hands on her hips. "If you were alive you'd be dead! Or… or… you know what I mean! I never got the physics of this anyway."

Inu-Yasha smiled painfully. "You're cute when you're angry."

Kagome flushed and wrung at the cloth in her hand before looking at it uselessly and throwing it away. "Come on, we have to get you out of here. Miroku, Sango, Shippo and the others are probably all worried about us." She picked up his arm and put it over her shoulder, trying to keep him stable as they waded through the water. Inu-Yasha grinned.

"Nah, they've given up on us, decided we're dead. To make up for the fact that they're all gonna die soon, Miroku and Sango had lots of sex, Shippo took over my uncle's job and that stupid kappa became a pop star."

Kagome smacked his chest, making sure she did it lightly and missed all the external wounds. "Just because you saved life, the universe and everything doesn't mean you can be prick about it."

"I'm not." Inu-Yasha said, poking her side in retaliation. "I'm always a prick."

"True enough." Kagome sighed, slowing her pace. Everything suddenly felt so slow and dragged out. How long had Naraku been dead? Five minutes? Two? Already it seemed like forever, and like just seconds before. All the fear, all the worry, all the anger that he had caused to build up in her had vanished, and now she felt empty and a bit lost. Ever since she had been told about destiny this and fate that… and now that Kikyou was dead for good maybe.. maybe if she survived all of this she wouldn't be just the Reborn. She'd be Kagome. Inu-Yasha's Kagome.

"So how'd you know?" Her angel's voice broke through her thoughts and she looked up at him quizzically. "How'd you know that shooting me with that arrow would let me whoop Naraku's butt?"

Kagome hung her head, smiling. "Well, I really didn't. I just remembered what I heard the others say about the Second Strike, about your mother and father and… I guess I just thought that it would work."

"You mean you shot me on a _whim_?" He looked at her in disbelief, stumbling a bit. Kagome giggled and patted his arm sympathetically.

"Don't worry about it, it's all okay now, isn't it?" She smiled sweetly at him, and he poked her side, grumbling.

"Stupid bitch doesn't even know what the hell she's doing, just go and try and get me killed, why don't ya, eh?"

Kagome shook her head, smiling, before slowing her pace and squinting in the darkness. It was still raining and thundering and lightening and hard to really get one's bearings…

"Kagome? Why'd we…" Inu-Yasha trailed off, looking at the inky blackness, which looked the same from all directions. "We're fucking lost, aren't we?"

"How do you get into this thing?" Sango braced her leg against the rock as she brought her Hiraikotsu back for another blow against the volcano's wall. Miroku chipped away at the rock with his staff,, but with just as little success.

"I supposed we'll just have to wait until Kagome-sama returns so we can ask her." The monk said, knocking away a small rock and staring at the wall in defeat. "By the time we get through here, the Third Strike will be over."

"Yeah, and by then it won't matter." Shippo scrunched up his nose as he scratched furiously at the stone. "But we have to save Kagome!"

"And Inu-Yasha." Miroku added. Shippo's nose scrunched up further. "Sure, him too." The mortal monk sighed and shook his head, hitting the rock face again with his staff.

"You can poke at it all you want, the rock is _never_ going to move." Netsuna sighed, scratching the tip of her ear and causing all the rings on it to jingle.

Shippo shot her an angry glare before he resumed his scratching at the wall. "Unlike you, some of us have friends we care about!" A flash of lighting tore across the sky and Shippo's soaked bulb of a tail could be seen dashing under Miroku's tattered robes as the momentary blindness left by the flash dissipated. Netsuna leaned back on one arm, staring curiously at the black sky.

"Letting up, doncha think?" she hummed, twirling a piece of hair around one finger. Mizuki glanced up and nodded.

"Sounds like it anyway, and th' rain smells different. Although I still can't find my fuckin' fags. Are you sure you didn't take them?" He glared out of the corner of his eye at the smiling catgirl.

"Of course not!" She beamed at him, souring his mood.

"What's gotten into you?" Sango stood up straight, wiping water from her bangs. "A few minutes ago you were all doom and gloom and now you're acting like you're on a picnic." Netsuna studied a scratched nail for a second, before turning her bright smile to the other girl.

"Isn't it obvious dearie? I thought you were smart." She smiled, resting her chin on her hand as she then chipped away at the endless stone. Miroku paused in his work to turn and raise an eyebrow at the cat.

"Meaning…?" Netsuna beamed at him, before jumping down and twirling in a circle.

"We won!"

The silence that followed her statement was only broken by a rumbling thunder. Netsuna frowned.

"You _could_ look happy about it, you know." She sniffed and leaned back against the rock. Miroku, Sango and Shippo all looked at each other in confusion before turning back to the cat demon.

"Naraku's been killed?"

"That was part of the winning package, yes." Netsuna commented dryly, before shrugging and leaning against the boulder she had been sitting on. She held out a hand, cupping it slightly as the rain pooled in her palm. "Feel it. The rain's warmer."

"Hmm?" Miroku and Sango held out their hands, trying to feel the change in the water's temperature. Shippo shook the water out of his hair and tail furiously, looking at Netsuna.

"Kagome and Inu-Yasha are okay, right?" He asked worriedly, rubbing his hands together. Netsuna's expression changed and she frowned slightly and shook her head. "That's something I can't tell ya kid." She shrugged helplessly. "I guess we'll know soon enough."

"Speaking 'o which, where'd that brother of yours go?" Mizuki interjected, bringing the attention to him. Netsuna blinked before looking around, seeing that her emotionally unbalanced sibling had been missing since they had left their shelter.

"He has been missing for a long time." Miroku noticed. Sango nodded, looking suspiciously at the cat demon. "Any idea where he might have gone?"

"Not a clue." The catgirl yawned, flickering her ring laden ear. "Probably banging his head against a wall, muttering about his failure to destroy everything."

"Au contraire, my dear sister."

Netsuna's head snapped up so quickly Sango and Miroku winced at the sound of bone popping. The cat demon leaped off of her rock, staring dumbly at her brother, who returned her stare with a smug smile.

His black shrouds soaked complete through and dripping rank-looking water, the second trespasser appeared from behind a scarred boulder, a smug look in his red eyes. "I went for a walk and found two lost little souls. Well, one lost threeblood and one lost soul."

"Kagome!" Shippo squealed, racing out from under Miroku's robes into the now light rain to run to the young girl's side. Kagome picked him up and hugged him tightly. "Shippo-chan, you're okay!"

"Kagome-chan!" Sango smiled, also running to her friend's side. Miroku opened his mouth to speak before coughing and choosing to walk up instead.

"Inu-Yasha." He nodded to the bruised and bleeding threeblood, who nodded back, trying to look dignified while leaning on a schoolgirl's shoulder for support.

"Kagome I'm so glad you're okay and I thought you were going to die and that the world would be destroyed but now everything looks like it's going to be good again!" Shippo squealed, hugging the girl as tightly as possible. Kagome smiled and hugged him back with one arm. "I think everything's going to be okay now, Shippo."

"So… is he.. is… is Na-"

"Is Naraku dead?" Inu-Yasha huskily filled in for Sango, who nodded. "I ripped his fucking head off, so he'd better be." He punctuated his remark with a snort. Kagome smiled and shook her head slowly.

"I found them wandering around the inside of that vast pit, looking as lost as camels in the arctic." Kuro-michi said with a smirk. "Naraku's body was not far away, so it was easy to find. He is, indeed, dead."

"We won!" Shippo shouted enthusiastically. "We'll never have to fight again! We can go back to our regular lives because we won!"

"Well of course we would." Sango smiled. "You didn't expect us to loose now, did you?" Shippo blushed and shook his head. Kagome giggled.

"So…. Now what?" Miroku asked as they seated themselves, Kagome still fussing over Inu-Yasha's wounds, while he growled at her but let her continue. The threeblood shrugged and made a face.

"Oi, that _hurts_." He hissed as Kagome. She frowned at him and continued to apply pressure to his shoulder. "I suppose you just want me to let you bleed to death, hmm?" She said.

"If it's less painful, then yes." Inu-Yasha grumbled. The rest of the company smiled, as Sango held out a hand, looking into the sky.

"I think the rain's almost stopped." She said quietly. Everyone looked up to see a very faint light highlighting the thinning clouds; the rain was just a small pit-pattering now. Shippo climbed higher onto one of the boulders and twirled around.

"I still can't believe it's over!" He squeaked, after falling down on his tail. Miroku smiled and yawned. "But now that it's over, what do we do?" He asked again, looking at everyone solemnly. "The planes are all but gone, and we have nowhere to go."

Silence greeted his statement as it sunk it. Kagome slumped dejectedly, absent-mindedly playing with Shippo's fur.

"What are we going to do?" Sango echoed Miroku's question. Shippo shook some water out of his hair and opened his mouth as if to say something, before closing is and sitting down. He put his chin on his hands and sighing heavily.

"Well just look at all of you." Netsuna tutted. "Just look at you. You save the world, fufill your destinies and now you're all just sittin' there looking like ducks with no water. Cheer up a little, couldn't ya?"

"What happened to the other planes?" Kagome asked the cat demon. Netsuna's ears jangled thoughtfully.

"Mmm… destroyed."

"_What?"_ Inu-Yasha snarled, jumping up and ripping a bandage out of Kagome's hands.

"You didn't expect them to stay fine, or just snap back, did you?" Netsuna started flatly at him. "The Third Strike beat them up rather badly. I doubt they'll ever recover. This one also isn't going to last very long."

Inu-Yasha was fuming. "You mean we did all that, suffered through all that shit just for all of the planes to be destroy… Wait, this one too?"

The smile on the cat demon's face was not a pleasant one. "If I were you, I'd start running."

As if on cue, the ground began to tremble as smaller stones clattered on the ground. Frightened, Shippo ran up Kagome's arm and hid behind her hair as the girl jumped up.

"Kirrara!" Sango shouted frantically as the angel jumped down from a boulder, which had begun to rock, and transformed. As the group settled onto her, the large cat flew into the air, just as the ground began to crack.

"Oi, OI! What about me!" Mizuki shouted, side-stepping to avoid being pulled into the ground and just seconds later having to duck from a flying rock. "Don't just leave me he-ouch!" A large stone had clunked him in the back of the head.

Netsuna tutted again. "Beings."

"Kagome! Kagome!"

Kagome let out a groan and rolled over, pulling the blanket over her eyes. She didn't want to get up just because the sun was. She didn't want to go to school. She wanted to stay in bed where it was nice, warm and free of stupid hassles and stress. She was exhausted and her body felt like it had been though the end of the world.

Then, with a shock, she remembered that it had.

In a flash she sat up. She was in a cave, with a small fire flickering in one end, wrapped up in a soft but worn and torn purple blanket – Miroku's robe. Shippo's small red head poked into the entrance and his face just lit up.

"Kagome! Ne, you're awake!" He scampered into the cave and threw himself into her arms, hugging her tightly.

"Shippo!" She hugged him tightly back, trying to piece it all together. They had been fighting Naraku, Inu-Yasha had killed him, then they were running for their lives – "Shippo, what happened? Where are we? What about the Third Strike?"

Shippo giggled and bounced out of Kagome's arms, grabbed her hand and pulling on it excitedly, like a kid at Christmas. "C'mon! C'mon! You have to see this! It's awesome!"

"What's awesome?" Kagome asked, letting herself be led out of the cave. She squinted as the bright sunlight obscured her vision, but she soon forgot about it, gasping in shock.

"See? It's _awesome."_

"It is, Shippo." Kagome said, almost dazed. "It really is."

A beautiful countryside was laid out before her. Rolling hills melted into a rich looking forest of an emerald green matched only by the perfect blueness of the sky. A small brook babble over the landscape and some birds twittered. It was like a little slice of paradise. Except…

"How? How did this happen?" Kagome wondered aloud.

"Technicalities." She turned around to see a heavily bandaged Miroku and Sango leaning against a moss-covered trunks in the sunlight. Sango seemed to be asleep – her eyes were closed and she was leaning peacefully on Miroku's shoulder. The monk winked at Kagome and leaned his head back. "Feel that?" She exclaimed. "Warmth, _sunlight_. Do you know what that means?"

Kagome shook her head.

The look on Miroku's face was beyond ecstatic. "We're real. Not just wisps on some ghost of a plain. We're _alive_ again."

Kagome gasped. "Really?" She asked, as Shippo climbed onto her shoulder. "But.. but… how? Why? What technicalities are you talking about?"

"Kagome!" She turned to see Inu-Yasha, shirtless and carrying two trees, come through the forest. He dropped the trunks and ran to her in two steps, picking her up in a bear hug. She squealed as he spun her around and nearly dropped her there, leaving her dizzy.

"Look at this!" He said, almost as excited as Shippo. "Look at this! That stupid bitch was just being stupid! The three plains got destroyed and melded back into one! Look at this!"

"I'm looking." Kagome said, coughing to hide her smile. Miroku had also joined in the cough, leaving Inu-Yasha to look at them oddly. Kagome quickly continued on. "So what do you mean they melded back into one?"

"What are you, a retard?" Inu-Yasha snorted, causing Kagome to frown. "That's exactly what I mean! The three plains were destroyed, just like that stupid bitch said. Then they all turned into this one. She was just being a little too vague on the fucking prophecy."

"Oh, stop swearing you." Kagome hit him lightly on the arm. She looked around the area in a slight awe again. "So… this is our new home?"

"We're gonna build a cottage and live in it!" Shippo exclaimed excitedly. "It's gonna be great!"

Kagome laughed. "I'm sure it is, Shippo."

"Well it won't be if I don't get some help." Inu-Yasha grumbled, kicking Miroku's foot. "Oy! Get up and help me, instead of sitting on your lazy ass!"

"Inu-Yasha!" Miroku looked offended. "Can't you see that I'm wounded?"

"And it's gonna get worse if you don't get up." The threeblood snapped back. "Now up!"

Netsuna smiled as she watched the group of them arguing, talking and laughing, as Inu-Yasha grabbed Miroku by his hair and yanked him up, causing the rude awakening of an irate Sango. She chuckled and stood up, stretching before she fell back down on the cloud she was resting on.

"Ready to go?" She turned and looked over at her brother, who was idly watching the scene below. "They'll do good here, I think. It's turned out nicely."

"They do suit it well." Kuro-michi nodded, before glancing at his left. "So are we taking that one with us or leaving him here?"

Netsuna smiled warmly at the snoring Mizuki, half-splayed on his cloud. "He's cute. We should keep him, I think he'll make a good trespasser. Probably will have all sorts of ideas for the next First Strike."

"That won't be for a while though." The darker trespasser look as his sister. The cat demon smiled.

"Then he'll have a lot of time to learn."

THE EVER-LOVING END.

That wasn't so bad, was it? Cut off a bit, but I don't really know. If you want something a bit more satisfying, Inu-Yasha and Kagome get married, just like Sango and Miroku and they have their own little houses on the hill and they find out that a bunch of other people(angels, mortals and demons) survived the Third Strike and they create a fun and happy community and everything's happy. And they have a bajillion babies each.

Tell you what – you don't like it, think of something else that you may like. Write your own fanfic! (I am totally not serious).

I don't really know what else to put here other than thank you and I'm sorry. Thank you for staying true to the fanfic and loving it like you do. And I'm sorry that I had to make you wait for so long for this.

So what's happening in the world of Ama? Not fanfic any more, I can tell you that. I'm looking into maybe having Guardian Angel re-writing into it's own original story with original characters. It won't be the same of course, but along similar lines. Hopefully get it as a comic book. Because that would totally rock.

So that's it for me guys. It's been a helluva rockin' ride.

Peace.

Ama.


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